The Conspiracy Wore My Face
by Bill K
Summary: Japan's new monarchy is threatened by an adversary who can become anyone or anything. And assistance comes from a source long thought dead.
1. Haunted House

THE CONSPIRACY WORE MY FACE  
Chapter 1: "Haunted House"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

Sailor Moon and all related characters are (c)2015 by Naoko Takeuchi and are used without permission, but with respect. Story is (c)2015 by Bill K.

* * *

A green Nissan Stanza pulled up in front of an egg-shaped domicile, one of a row of such structures. The building looked like every other building in the row. There were, however, two exceptions that differentiated this home from the others on the block.

One was the utter lack of life in the building. The windows were dark and unadorned. The small lawn in front was overgrown and unkempt. The vegetation in the small lawn was overgrown with produce unpicked and rotting.

The second difference was the fact that, in overcrowded Tokyo, there was an open space to park. This in itself was unheard of at this time of day in this kind of neighborhood. It was as if no one wanted to risk parking in front of the building.

Two women emerged from the Stanza. One was exceedingly tall for a woman, athletically built, her brown hair pulled back in a pony tail by a green beaded clasp. She wore beige slacks and a light brown turtleneck as a concession to the turning season. The other woman was dressed in the blue and white robes of a Shinto priest. Beneath a thick mane of jet black hair, penetrating violet eyes looked over the scene, trying to see that which wasn't visible to the untrained eye.

"Well, if you were going to make a haunted house," Makoto Kino-Ikegami commented, standing next to the driver's side of the car, "this would be it."

"Except that it looks like a giant egg," the priest, Rei Hino, added cynically.

"Hey, she did the best she could," Makoto grinned.

"Yeah, that's part of the problem," chuckled Rei. Then she grew serious. But Makoto noticed she didn't step toward the house.

"Sure you're up to this?" Makoto asked. "Nobody wants to rush you."

"No, I want to try," Rei confirmed. "Our talks have actually done me a lot of good. I've actually had a few intuitive flashes recently." She lowered her eyes shyly. "I actually read something in Derek when we were in bed last night."

"Bet that wasn't too hard," Makoto grinned. Rei smiled conspiratorially. "OK. You want me to come with you?

"It's not necessary," Rei replied. "I shouldn't be in any danger. But be ready. If there is a yurei here, there's a chance it could become violent."

"How big a chance?" Makoto asked. Rei turned to her and squeezed her thumb and index finger close together.

Entering the front of the property, Rei moved toward the building slowly. She tried to concentrate on the psychic surroundings as well as the physical. As she stepped, her mind sank deeper and deeper into the background, trying to let her second sight come forward. Rei could feel it was there, but it continued to be just out of her reach.

"Something's not right with this place," Makoto observed out loud, so Rei could hear it. "Did you notice there's no birds?"

"Yes, I did," Rei replied distantly.

"And all of this food in the front yard, but it doesn't look like it's attracted any squirrels or mice or raccoons. That's not normal."

"It could be some sort of electrical field from the transformer up there is scaring the animals off," Rei suggested. Makoto glanced up the utility pole next to the property. There was indeed a massive transformer atop the pole.

Reaching the front of the house, Rei pressed her fingers together in front of her nose. Makoto watched her with growing anxiety. On the one hand, she hoped the reports of yurei in the dwelling were false and they could all go home. On the other hand, she hoped something was there just so Rei could sense it. Rei needed a victory.

Moments dragged on into minutes. Rei just stared. Makoto worried. Finally, the priest dropped her arms and turned to her friend.

"I don't sense anything," Rei proclaimed.

"You sure? The folks who lived here last seemed awful scared."

"Well, I'm as certain as I can be," Rei offered. "My sight's not completely back yet. But there are an awful lot of people who see demons and yureis when it's often simple carelessness that . . ."

Suddenly a cloud of billowing, dense smoke exploded around the priest. Makoto lurched forward immediately, her henshin stick out. But the smoke quickly dissipated and Makoto saw Rei was all right. The priest was waiving her arms trying to further dissipate the smoke.

"What was that?" gasped Makoto. Rei bent down and picked up a broken plastic container.

"I think it was a smoke bomb," scowled the priest. "Probably some kids were shooting off fireworks. I must have detonated it when I stepped on it." She glanced at Makoto and grinned sheepishly. "What was I just saying about carelessness?"

"Yeah," chuckled Makoto. "So no yurei?"

"I don't think so," Rei replied. "There may be human mischief behind what may or may not be going on here, but I don't think it's supernatural. Maybe someone is playing an elaborate trick on the landowner."

"Or they just don't like living in an egg," Makoto shrugged. Rei said no and that was good enough for her. The pair climbed into the Stanza and drove off.

* * *

Ami entered the room in the palace that served as Queen Serenity's "office", though it was anything but. In one corner of the room was a drawing table with a taboret and a small bookshelf with books containing reference pictures. Pinned to the board was page twelve of the latest chapter of "Fire Princess Rika" in pencil, waiting to be inked. Against the opposite wall was a desk facing four plush chairs. Hung on the wall connecting the two corners was a giant screen television, which Luna had dubbed "Her Majesty's goof-off corner". Facing the television in the center of the room was a huge sofa and coffee table.

She found Serenity at her desk, hard at work on a list. Serenity looked up as the doctor approached and Ami noticed the light of excitement in the Queen's eyes.

"Ami-Chan, you're just in time! You can help me make plans!" exclaimed the Queen.

"Plans?" Ami asked. "Are you conceiving of new reforms to put through to the Diet?"

"No!" howled Serenity. "Setsuko-Chan's birthday party! She's going to be five in a few days! Honestly, I haven't been able to give it as much attention as I wanted to. Government keeps getting in the way!"

"While I understand your enthusiasm, Serenity, perhaps you should consider something less grand," Ami suggested gently after perusing the list. Serenity responded with a stricken look. "Setsuko has a great many more birthdays to look forward to. If you make this one the spectacle of all spectacles, she will only be disappointed when future observations don't measure up."

"I hadn't thought of that," Serenity frowned. "I just - - want her to be happy."

"She's soon to be five, Serenity," Ami reasoned. "As long as you and Endymion and all of her extended 'family' are here, she'll be pleased." Ami took a seat across the desk from the Queen. "I did want to discuss something concerning her turning five, if it's all right. Have you and Endymion considered enrolling her in school? Schools are starting up again, granted with an abbreviated term."

"I thought you had to be six to get into first grade," frowned the Queen. "I know I had to be six."

"I was thinking more along the lines of kindergarten."

"I never went to kindergarten. Mom and Dad couldn't afford it," Serenity recalled. She paused for a moment to let the sting of remembering her recently deceased parents pass. "Do you think it would be good for Setsuko-Chan?"

"In my professional opinion, yes," Ami nodded. "While I know very little about Setsuko-Chan's family life before the disaster, and she seems to recall little beyond general impressions, I am certain of one thing: Her life here in the palace has become quite insulated."

"I do my best," Serenity moaned. "But so many people need me."

"And you do a fine job," Ami quickly added. "It's obvious that Setsuko-Chan is quite taken with you and you fill her need for a surrogate parent very well. But children her age need other children of the same relative peer group to interact with. Interacting with adults doesn't fill the same needs. Right now the only other children she interacts with are Ichiro Ikegami and to a lesser extent Akiko. And they're both going to be returning to school soon. That's going to leave a void in her life."

"That sounds terrible," Serenity responded in mild shock.

"Talk it over with Endymion," Ami advised her. "Ask Luna's advice if you wish. If you'd like, I can make some suggestions. There are several fine kindergartens that are reasonably close to the palace. And if you don't like them, I can ask Mother for some recommendations as well."

"I'll talk to Endymion," Serenity nodded. "But I already know what I think: If you think it's the right thing to do, it's the right thing to do."

"Thank you for having confidence in my opinion," Ami chuckled.

"OK, back to the party!" Serenity gasped. "What do you think about - - a pony!"

Ami grimaced.

"Too much?" Serenity squeaked.

* * *

"And that was all there was to it," Rei shrugged as she and Derek finished the last of their meal. The pair sat on the balcony outside of their quarters, watching the view of Tokyo Bay. The sun had set and the quarter moon was rising, hitting an angle that made a rippling reflection in the waters of the bay.

"No ghost?" Derek asked.

"No ghost," Rei smiled contentedly. "Whatever is causing the trouble in that dwelling isn't supernatural."

"So does this mean your abilities are coming back?"

"Slowly," Rei admitted. "Much too slowly for my taste. But I can feel them. And I have enough sight to sense a yurei." She smirked. "It's not THAT difficult."

"So talking with Makoto is helping?" Derek asked. There was more concern in his voice than he liked showing, but the burly athlete didn't shy away from it.

Rei snuggled up against him. "It's helping," she said. "But what helped even more was the love and support I got from you." Rei turned up her face to look at him. "I'm not certain I could have made it this far back if you hadn't been there for me."

"No charge," Derek smiled.

"No, I mean it," she emphasized, putting her hand on his chest and straining up to get closer to his face. "There were days when I couldn't be strong. Days when I didn't know if I'd ever be strong again. But I didn't have to be. You were strong for me. You let me cling to you until I could - - find my footing. I'm really grateful to you."

At once the pair realized how close their mouths were to each other. Each one stared in surprise into the other's eyes. But all at once their surprise disappeared.

"Very grateful," Rei whispered and pressed her mouth to his.

The quarter moon's reflection rippled on the surface of Tokyo Bay.

"All I've ever wanted was for you to be whole," Derek confessed. "For you to be that woman I fell in love with again."

"I can be that woman," Rei whispered. "It hasn't been easy for you. I know that. I apologize. I think I can do it now." Her eyes darted downward. "If you'll have me."

"Do you have to even ask?"

At once Derek scooped Rei up in his arms. She giggled, then lay against his chest as he carried her inside. Once inside their bedroom, Rei slid from his arms and scampered into the bathroom. Derek thought it odd, but said nothing, reminding himself that she was still working her way back. He slid from his clothes and was climbing into bed when Rei emerged.

"One of these days I'm going to get you out of those pajamas and into something sexier," Derek grinned. Rei was wearing her pastel red loose pajama top and matching loose pajama pants.

"And I thought you loved me for my spirit," Rei replied with a mock pout.

"I love your spirit," Derek volleyed back. "It's just a shame to hide that gorgeous body in something that doesn't flatter those curves."

"Well," Rei smiled, her eyes hooded, "if it's curves you want," and she playfully reached for the top button on her pajama top.

Then reached for the light switch with her other hand and turned off the lights.

"You never needed it to be dark before," Derek observed.

"Baby steps," Rei whispered. "Bear with me? Please?"

There was just enough light reflected into the room from outside to allow Derek to see her shimmy out of the pajama top. The silhouette of her upper torso brought back memories of happier times. Then Rei's silhouette disappeared in the darkness. Moments later he felt her soft form slide in beside him.

"Thank you for being patient with me," Rei whispered and kissed his bare chest.

"Thank you for coming back," Derek whispered back. He leaned in and sought out her mouth with his.

* * *

Rei suddenly felt consciousness flood over her. With it came a disorientation - - her last memory was of walking away from the supposedly haunted house, and then the smoke. She knew that she had lost some time and didn't know how it happened. Adding to the disorientation was the fact that she couldn't see. Everything was pitch black around her.

No. There was a cloth over her eyes. Rei moved to push it from her face, but her arms held firm behind her. Cold thin metal dug into her wrists. She was handcuffed, her arms forced behind a wooden post that pressed into her back. Through the material of her priest robes, she could feel the coldness and hardness of a dirt floor.

A panicked dread seized her chest. It was happening again. She was a prisoner again. They'd come back for her. Those awful, terrible Frost People who had kept her prisoner for two hideous years and ground her spirit to a fine paste had come back for her. They'd gotten her again.

"Stop," Rei whispered to herself. "It's not going to help anything to panic," she told herself, her voice trembling.

She was free to speak.

"Hello?" the priest ventured, trying to will the fear out of her voice. "Is anyone here?"

Silence.

"ANYONE?" Rei shouted, struggling to keep her head. "I NEED HELP HERE! IS ANYONE THERE? HELP ME!"

There was no response. To keep herself focused on something other than dissolving into a quivering mass, Rei tried to assess her surroundings. First of all, the floor was different from her cell in the other dimension. This was soil, where the other had been stone. Then she realized that there hadn't been any reverberations when she shouted. Her cell had possessed an ever so slight echo to it and this had none.

The priest sniffed the air. She got a faint whiff of herbs that could be used in traditional medicines. A root cellar? If so, then the walls were made of stone and lined with wood, and she was underground. So it wasn't the Frost People who had her. It was someone else. For a moment Rei felt herself sag with relief.

"Time to get out of this," she whispered and mentally summoned her henshin stick. That was when the panic returned. Her henshin stick didn't appear. Rei tried again, her desperation rising. Again, nothing.

Then she recalled that ancient practitioners of the supernatural often cast spells using herbs. Was this who had her? Was she stuck in some sort of mystic circle that cut her off from reality? Rei's mind raced. She struggled to summon everything she could recall about such magic and such practitioners. Oh how she wished she had access to her library in the shrine back in the palace.

Her ears caught the sound of footsteps on a wooden staircase.

"Who's there?" Rei demanded.

"You see, Master," a voice said, a voice that didn't sound quite human. "She has awakened."

"Are you the one who abducted me?" Rei asked as forcefully as she could. "Who are you?"

"Yes, and full of questions, I see," came another voice. This one was a man. His voice spoke of knowledge, of confidence, and of ambition.

"Name yourself!" Rei barked.

"Quite demanding for someone in your position, Sensei," the voice replied. The other voice emitted a laugh that was almost like a hiss.

"Name yourself, coward!" Rei snapped. "Are you that frightened of me?"

"You can't sense what I am?" he asked. "The rumors are true. You are fallen. It explains why you were so easy to capture." Rei felt a furry mass brush against her cheek and flinched. "While I have a healthy respect for your abilities, Hino-Sensei, I have no fear of you. You're quite sufficiently restrained, both physically, meta-physically and psychically. As for my name?"

Though Rei couldn't see him, she could almost feel him grinning.

"You may call me the future ruler of Japan."

Continued in Chapter 2


	2. Evil In The Shadows

THE CONSPIRACY WORE MY FACE  
Chapter 2: "Evil In The Shadows"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

"Future ruler of Japan?" Rei gasped in shock. "What do you mean?"

But the unseen man who owned the disembodied voice merely turned around and began to climb the wooden steps.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?" Rei bellowed impotently. "WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TO HER?"

The priest's answer was the root cellar door closing. Furiously Rei struggled to slip out of the handcuffs that bound her arms behind the wooden post. But suddenly she stopped.

For she heard the hissing laughter of her captor's partner - - the one who wasn't quite human.

* * *

At the breakfast table in the Royal Chambers, three humans and a cat sat down to their morning meal. One of the humans, Queen Serenity by name, sat with her chin resting on one hand while the other groped at a bowl with a fork, occasionally hitting something. Her eyes were closed and golden strands of hair fell across her forehead. With a bite of food on the fork, she blindly brought it to her mouth. But the food fell into her lap before it reached her mouth, so her lips closed around an empty fork.

"Hmm," Serenity mumbled. "Thought I had something that time."

Setsuko, also sitting at the table, cackled with amusement. Endymion, a veteran witness to this but still amused by it, stifled a laugh.

"Your Majesty," sighed Luna, looking up from her bowl of fish, "the child has better table manners than you and she's only four."

"Gonna be five on Friday, Luna-Chan," Setsuko corrected the feline.

"Yes indeed," Luna smiled. "And then you'll be even more mentally superior to your mother." Setsuko cackled again.

"Endymion," Serenity half-mumbled, half-sighed. "I hear a nasty buzzing sound. Do something about it." Her voice trailed off as she began to doze. The Queen only woke up when her chin began to slide off of the hand holding it up.

"Wake up, Dear," Endymion gently prodded. "We have to get started soon. Remember, we're taking Setsuko-Chan to look over that kindergarten that Ami recommended."

"Mmph," grunted the Queen.

"What's 'kiddergarden'?" Setsuko inquired.

"Kindergarten, dear," Luna gently corrected her.

"Kindergarten is a place where you'll meet other children your age," Endymion explained. "And you'll learn to sing songs, play games, draw pictures, learn numbers and kanji."

"That'll be good," Setsuko replied enthusiastically. "Usagi-Mama still can't make a good kanji. We can learn together."

Luna turned to hide her snicker. However, Endymion realized something.

"Setsuko-Chan," he began. "Your mother and I won't be attending kindergarten with you. We have to run Japan. You'll be going to kindergarten by yourself."

"By myself?" Setsuko repeated. As the child's anxiety level shot up, Serenity suddenly became awake and aware. She leaned over and stroked the girl's head.

"It'll be all right," Serenity cooed. "You'll have a lot of fun, and you'll learn a lot of things."

"But I want to live here!" the child wailed.

"You'll still live here," Serenity assured her, hugging the girl. "You'll always live here, for as long as you want!"

"Yes, child, your parents aren't sending you away," Luna added. "It's just that their jobs are to run the nation, and your job is to go to school and learn."

"And you'll go to school and meet new people," Serenity continued. "And you'll make new friends and learn all sorts of new things! And at the end of the day, you'll come back home to me and to Endymion and you'll tell us all about everything you did! Because I'm going to want to know EVERYTHING!"

"I can come back?" Setsuko ventured timidly.

"Of course!" Serenity cried and hugged her again. "If I didn't think you were coming back, I wouldn't let you go!" She pulled back and looked at Setsuko. "So lets get ready so we can look this kindergarten over. And if you don't like it, we'll find one you do like. OK?"

Setsuko nodded, but Endymion could see she still had reservations.

* * *

Later that morning, with the King and Queen gone with Setsuko to look over the prospective kindergarten, Luna walked down the palace corridor with Artemis. She was relating the morning's events to him.

"And Ami went as well, both in her capacity as guardian for the King and Queen and as an advisor on the suitability of the school's curriculum," Luna told him. "I, of course, offered to go, but His Majesty thought I would, um, be of more service here."

"School doesn't allow pets, does it?" smirked Artemis.

"Archaic rule," scowled the black cat. "Still, I'm confident between His Majesty and Ami, the school's academic merits will get a good going over."

"Luna, it's kindergarten. I don't think they're going to be teaching advanced calculus."

"Social skills," Luna argued. "Interacting in a positive manner with others; personal grooming and hygiene; organization of time and its productive use; and above all, discipline and respect for authority. The good schools teach this. The bad ones don't."

"You would have made a good school teacher," Artemis commented dryly.

"I like to think I would have," Luna replied, missing his tone. "I managed, given that Her Majesty was hardly the best pupil. She's a prime example of a lax kindergarten."

"I don't think she went to kindergarten."

"And the deficiency rears its head constantly," Luna muttered.

Just then the two cats spotted Minako approaching. To the experienced eye of Artemis, Minako was practically floating. This meant one of two things: A career success or she'd just met a hot guy.

"Fuzzy! Just the cat I wanted to see!" Minako beamed. "Guess what!"

"Your recording company called and canceled your contract, saying it was all a big mistake?" Artemis quipped.

"No!" Minako scowled, then grew serious. "Why? Have you heard something?"

"Joking," Artemis sighed.

"Yeah, well leave the humor to the professionals," Minako huffed.

"I've told him that for years," Luna sighed.

"OK, OK. Hot date or did you sign the movie deal?" Artemis sighed.

"Movie deal!" Minako crowed and did a little dance.

"Indeed," Luna commented. "What does this film entail? I thoroughly enjoyed "The Handmaiden". You were quite good in it."

Minako just smiled, though her smile threatened to burst her face.

"So, spill!" huffed Artemis.

"They're going to make a 'budget is no object, high-profile, crammed with special effects summer blockbuster action film'," and Minako paused for effect, "of Sailor Moon and the Senshi! Live action! No animation this time! And no cheap TV budgets!"

"The King and Queen agreed to this?" Luna remarked skeptically. "Why wasn't I informed?"

"The deal was put together by our marketing firm," Minako explained. "I got Serenity and Endymion to agree to it 'to get the economy rolling' and all that stuff."

"So, think you can pull off Sailor Venus?" Artemis needled. "Sounds like a bit of a stretch for you."

"Dunno," smirked Minako. "They signed me to play Sailor Moon. They figured with my name recognition and with how close I am to Serenity, I'd be a can't miss draw." She took on a haughty air. "Not to mention my killer acting ability."

"Yeah, I've seen your movies," Artemis quipped. "You've certainly brought more than one to an untimely demise." For that, he got a rude shove with Minako's foot.

"Well I would hope you'll keep in mind the dignity of Her Majesty's station and reputation when you do this," Luna sniffed.

"Oh yeah," Minako nodded with mock gravity. "When we do the scene where she trips over her own hair trails, I'll do it in the most dignified manner possible." Something caught Minako's eye down the hall. "Rei! Hey, Rei, guess what!"

The cats turned as Minako bounded down the hall. The tail of a light blue robe disappeared behind a wall into the junction corridor. Seconds later Minako reached the junction, but stopped and stared in surprise and confusion. Moments after that the cats joined her.

"Where'd Rei go?" Artemis asked, for the junction corridor was empty.

"Beats me," Minako mumbled.

"Are you sure it was Rei you saw?"

"When have I ever been wrong?" Minako asked. Artemis rolled his eyes. "That's weird. Rei didn't move that fast when The Three Lights concert tickets went on sale that one time. She must have really had something to do."

"Or something to escape from," Luna thought, but diplomatically didn't say out loud.

* * *

Exiting the Diet for the scheduled lunch break, Dietman Takahashi headed for his office. He was intent on picking up an item he'd need for the lunch meeting he had scheduled with the CEO of Sashimi Agricultural Industries. Takahashi's friends in the corporate world were still largely against the reforms instituted by the new monarchy. Takahashi, who shared their feelings, was meeting with them one by one to encourage them to "keep the faith", sound them out on possible ways to counter the measures, and see if he could keep those campaign contributions flowing.

What he didn't want was to be button-holed by the rising star of the opposition.

"Dietwoman Momohara," Takahashi said, concealing his distaste for the interruption. Dietwoman Momoko Momohara was everything he wasn't: young, idealistic, a Queen Serenity loyalist and an unabashed reformer dedicated to breaking up the old boy's network that had served him over the years.

"I'll only take a few minutes, Dietman," Momoko cautioned. "I just want to know if there was something I could say or do to convince you to support the prison reform measure before the Diet."

"I doubt it," Takahashi answered. "While I'll concede that the monarchy's heart is probably in the right place in this instance, weakening the Japanese penal system in some misguided gesture of charity . . ."

"Have you ever been to Fuchu Prison?" Momoko interrupted. "It's treatment of prisoners often crosses the line of brutality."

"Stern measures for stern cases, Momohara-San," Takahashi replied. "They're a danger to society. If being firm is the best way to control them, so be it."

"Firm and brutal are two different things."

"And if brutal makes the place feared, perhaps that fear will dissuade some from committing crimes against innocent people."

"That's a very hard stance," Momoko scowled. "I would have hoped the new political climate would have softened such things. I'd hoped it would be enough to persuade you to support the measure."

"Does it matter?" Takahashi frowned and Momoko saw the real person peek out from behind the politician's mask. "Even if the measure were defeated, Queen Serenity could just enact it with a wave of her hand."

"So this is personal rather than philosophical?"

"My opposition to the measure is as stated," Takahashi replied. "No, I don't happen to like our current method of government. I've also stated openly that such concentration of power in a single entity is dangerous."

"I don't know how you could think that of Queen Serenity," Momoko argued. "There isn't a kinder, gentler person on the face of the planet. I would trust her with our welfare more than I would anyone else in existence, including myself."

"That's fine," Takahashi began. Then he looked Momoko right in the eye. "But the longer you experience power, the more you'll come to realize that it affects people - - possibly even your saintly Queen Serenity. And even if she doesn't succumb to the temptation of being able to do anything she wants, there's always the possibility that someone will overthrow her and her band of senshi. And they might not be as benevolent when they seize that absolute power. And, thanks to people like you, we'll have no means of expelling them except through a long, destructive civil war. Study your history, Dietwoman Momohara. The Meiji Restoration would be a dance in the park compared to a modern civil war."

With nothing more to be said, Takahashi headed for his office. Momoko let him. Though he raised valid points, she knew in her heart that he was wrong about this.

He had to be.

* * *

Blindly Rei felt along the dirt floor with her hands. The priest had concluded that a mystic barrier had been put around her to keep her from transforming into Sailor Mars. If it was constructed like she thought it was constructed, components had been poured onto the dirt surrounding her in a mystic circle. Sunder the circle and the spell would be broken.

She just had to find the circle.

And she had to do it without raising an alarm. Rei hadn't heard her captor's partner or underling or whatever it was depart, so she had to assume it was still there. The way her skin crawled added to that feeling. And of course that brought up repressed memories of her other captors, the Frost People, the dousing and the beatings. For a moment she felt her hands begin to tremble.

"Afraid of something?" came the voice. What was it about that voice? It wasn't human, but what was it?"

Rei kept silent. Better not to egg her on. Acting up got a beating.

"You won't reach it," the voice told her and Rei realized it had guessed what she planned. "Master planned too well."

"And who is your master?" Rei asked, all the while forcing her trembling hands to continue to grope the ground.

"Wouldn't you like to know," the voice taunted her.

"What has he promised you?" the priest continued to probe. "What do you get out of this?"

"You're quite beautiful," the voice said, changing the subject, "for a human. And I know human beauty quite well."

What did that mean?

"Why do you do it?" the voice asked her. "Be a priest? You could have any man you chose. Live a life of wealth and ease - - not one of the hardship and denial of a priest."

"Obligation," Rei admitted. "That might not be a concept you understand."

"The concept is understood," the voice replied. "The reason is accepted. Pity, though. All your years of struggle and deprivation will soon be at an end."

Fighting to keep calm, Rei continued to search for the circle with her cuffed hands.

* * *

"So what are you preparing for tonight?" asked Amari Nagano. Nagano was one of the cooks who serviced the palace cafeteria. He was talking with Yukio Tsubame, who had been chief assistant chef at the now-departed Butterfly Palace under Sanjuro and Makoto Ikegami. Makoto had personally recruited Yukio to cook all of the meals for the Royal Family.

"Duck l'Orange," Yukio replied proudly. The woman, barely five feet tall, middle-aged and stout, had a whole duck waiting in a roasting pan and was carefully slicing an orange. "I haven't tried this recipe in years." She glanced at her fellow cook. "But the Queen does encourage me to experiment. And Ikegami-San liked me to experiment as well."

"And the Queen will eat anything you put before her," chuckled Nagano.

"Except carrots," they both said in unison. Each one laughed.

"It's too bad, too," Yukio sighed. "Duck l'Orange just isn't the same without a carrot."

Yukio walked over and opened a cabinet, plucking out a bottle of port. Nagano glanced at her.

"Are you making something different for the child?" he asked. "We can't be serving dishes to children with alcohol in them."

"No, I'm making a special portion for her," Yukio told him. "It just won't have port in the sauce." The woman smiled. "She's four. I doubt she'll know the difference."

"Five in three days," Nagano quipped.

"So she's told me," Yukio chuckled.

Turning back to her duck, Yukio found a strange woman standing by her work table.

"Here now," she spoke up. "Who are you?"

"Oh!" the woman gasped and bowed penitently. She was around twenty, slim with short brown hair and strikingly beautiful. "I just wanted to see what you were doing. I've never seen a dish like this before."

"Well it's not done yet. Please don't disturb it," Yukio fussed. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm Nansi," the girl said. "I just started here as part of the cafeteria staff."

"Well I'm sure you've got work to do," Yukio cautioned. "My advice is to get about it. It wouldn't do for you to be caught loitering around back here by Luna, especially on your first day."

"Yes, Ma'am! Thank you, Ma'am!" the girl bowed again and hurried off.

"Kids," Yukio smiled. "You have to keep after them all the time. Well, NOW maybe I can finish my sauce." And Yukio began stirring the mixture, unaware of a new ingredient that was in it.

Continued in Chapter 3


	3. The Senshi Of Fire

THE CONSPIRACY WORE MY FACE  
Chapter 3: "The Senshi Of Fire"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

Artemis entered the quarters he shared with Minako Aino and found her sitting before her vanity mirror. This in itself was not unusual. Minako's favorite subject was often Minako. And she'd just signed a movie deal, which always got her in front of her mirror experimenting with her look in anticipation of the role. What was surprising was that Minako had removed her signature red ribbon, which she'd removed only once in a non-theatrical capacity since she was thirteen. Even more so, she had her long golden hair pulled up into twin tails, mimicking Queen Serenity's signature style.

"They sign anyone to play Endymion yet?" Artemis asked, unable to completely wipe the grin off of his face.

"No," Minako replied, still critically looking herself over in the mirror. "But I sure hope it's Toshiro Nakasuki! I could kiss him and they wouldn't even have to pay me," and she glanced at the cat and smirked, "much."

"Don't the producers think this film is a little," Artemis began, "well, too soon after the disaster?"

"I guess I'll have to see the script to know that," Minako shrugged. "If it's mostly Sailor Moon and the Senshi triumphing over the big, bad, CGI Ice Giants, it might make people feel a little better about what happened. Maybe." She turned to the cat, still holding her hair to look like Serenity. "What do you think?"

"You're going to have a hard time using the Moon Tier with your hands holding your hair like that," Artemis quipped. He headed for the kitchen, his tail in the air.

Minako stuck out her tongue at him. Then her cell phone rang.

"Hey, Superintendent," she said cheerfully. But her mood quickly became serious when Superintendent Sakurada outlined the reason for the call. "Right. I'll call the others."

"What's up?" Artemis asked as Minako closed the phone and bolted for the door, tying her hair ribbon as she ran.

"Trouble in the city, Artemis!" Minako said. "And if Sakurada called the Senshi, it's more than her people can handle. Which means it's serious!"

* * *

Ami was driving Serenity, Endymion and Setsuko back to the palace. Serenity sat in the back of the Toyota mid-size with Setsuko.

"You didn't seem impressed with that kindergarten, Setsuko-Chan," Serenity ventured. The child, her short black hair growing out from the bowl cut she'd had when Serenity and Endymion first adopted her, sat silently, looking at the carpeting on the floorboard rather than at her adoptive mother. Finally the child shook her head. "It's all right. If you don't like that school, you don't have to go to it. We'll find another one."

Setsuko looked up at Serenity. It didn't seem like that was the answer she'd been hoping for. Just then, Ami's Senshi Communicator signaled. Ami engaged it and spoke as she drove.

"Yes, Minako?" Ami asked.

"We're needed, Mrs. Peel," Minako replied. When Ami reacted with puzzlement, Minako groaned. "Should have known a TV reference would be lost on you. We've got trouble at the Akaruimirai Research Facility and Sakurada thinks the Senshi should be involved. Makoto's already driving me and Rei over there."

"I'll divert immediately," Ami spoke as she drove. "Endymion, pull the location up on my satellite navigation device, please. Did Superintendent Sakurada say what the trouble was?"

"Apparently one of their experiments went boom," Minako reported, "or something like that."

Minutes later, Ami pulled up across from the Akaruimirai Research Facility. Changing in the car to Sailor Mercury, she exited the car. Serenity and Endymion were getting out as well, but the senshi turned to them.

"Please stay here," she told them diplomatically but firmly. "I'll make the initial contact with the problem."

"But Mercury," Serenity began to protest.

"You're both too important to the nation," Mercury cut her off. "Neither of you can take the risk. Besides, you have to stay and look after Setsuko-Chan."

That convinced them. Mercury crossed the street, headed for the research facility. As she moved, she engaged her visor.

"Goodness!" Mercury exclaimed. "The facility lab is in ruins! But what could have caused all of this destruction? I'm not - - wait a minute! Definitely a power source! The housing seems mechanical - - vaguely humanoid."

Instantly Mercury backed up several paces. Tearing through a steel fence was an eight foot mechanical monster. It had a square body with sensor arrays across the top. Two appendages approximating arms held the rent metal, while three long, thick appendages extended from the bottom of the central core to act as legs. If there was any question as to what had caused the destruction before, the sight of the monster quelled those questions.

Its sensor array scanned the immediate area, until it focused on Sailor Mercury. Instantly the gigantic device moved for her. It lumbered enough so that Mercury was able to stay out of its initial sweep, but it showed no sign of being discouraged.

"Stop!" cried a man peering out of the jagged hole in the fence. He was in his early thirties, with medium brown hair to his collar and glasses, and a bushy medium brown mustache in the middle of his long face. The man was frantically pressing on a computer tablet like he was trying to regain control of the runaway device. "Come back, Daiyaku One!"

When Mercury determined that the runaway device was going to make another attempt on her, she acted. "Shabon Spray!" she shouted, draping a dense fog over the area in hopes of confusing the device's sensors and momentarily halting it. She could see through the fog using her visor, and it was a good thing. It allowed her to avoid the machine's lunge, one of its upper appendages grabbing for her.

"Its sensor array must be nearly as penetrating as mine," Mercury thought. She shouted, "Mercury! Aqua Rhapsody!"

A sudden wave of water struck the eight foot robot dead on, then flash froze around it. As the fog died away, the robot was held in a thick mound of solid ice. The man trying to control it ran up. As he did, Mercury focused her visor on him, while Sailor Jupiter and the others drove up.

"You're Dr. Yogen Heiwajima," Mercury said to him, repeating what her visor had told her.

"Yes! Please don't damage my prototype! It's not supposed to react this way!" Heiwajima gasped frantically.

"Just what is this device?" Mercury asked. The other senshi were approaching.

"The Daiyaku project," Heiwajima replied. "After seeing what the city has gone through in recovering from the ice disaster, I set about trying to construct a robot that could make digging out and rebuilding faster and less dangerous."

"That?" Venus asked, pointing at the robot. "It looks like an old science fiction movie gone wrong."

"That's just the working model," Heiwajima shook his head. "If I'm successful, the final design will be more compact. Imagine a six to six and a half foot humanoid form, but as powerful as this, as resistant to wear and damage as any machine. It could excavate a ruin in half the time, get to survivors more quickly. Then a squad of them could rebuild fallen buildings in no time. Or repair damaged nuclear facilities. Or . . ."

Heiwajima was interrupted by the sound of ice cracking. They turned to the robot and saw a huge fault growing down the front of the ice mound.

"Get ready!" Venus shouted to the others. Moments later the robot burst free of the ice mound. Once more Dr. Heiwajima began pressing on his tablet.

"There has to be a flaw in the artificial intelligence!" he shouted, frantically trying to regain control. Further action was interrupted when Sailor Mercury hooked her right arm across his chest and under his left arm and dragged the engineer away. The robot, meanwhile, turned on the other three senshi.

"Jupiter, maybe you can fry its circuitry!" Venus called to her fellow senshi. She moved to her right, away from Jupiter and Mars, trying to draw the robot's attention.

"Will do! Supreme Thunder!" Jupiter shouted.

Lightning lanced down from the sky, striking the lightning rod extended from Jupiter's tiara and gathering there. When the charge was more than the rod could handle, Jupiter sent the bolt directly at the robot. It was extending one of its upper appendages at Venus, its claw-like fingers trying to grasp her. The lightning struck, popping and sizzling as the robot seized up. After the charge spent itself, the robot held its position, not moving. Steam from the vaporized condensation around the robot wafted up into the air.

"Did I get it?" Jupiter asked.

"Mercury?" Venus called out. Mercury was keeping Dr. Heiwajima away.

"Internal power source is negatively affected," Mercury called back, scanning the device with her visor. "All internal circuitry seems intact. It's probably just rebooting."

"Maybe it'll reboot back to normal," Jupiter offered as Mars looked on.

The robot came alive once again. Its first action was to lunge again for Venus. The senshi scooted out of the way barely in time.

"Story of my life! Some guy's got to get grabby!" Venus quipped. "Venus! Love and Beauty Shock!"

Golden energy slammed into the construct, sending it staggering back on its tripod legs. The force had little effect on its outer casing, though. Venus didn't wait for it to right itself, though.

"Venus Love Me Chain!"

Golden links encircled the construct, pinning the upper appendages to its main housing, then snaked down and drew the tripod legs together. The robot teetered, coming perilously close to toppling. As Venus held the chain, she noticed the lens of the center sensor shift from a green lens to a ruby one. Without warning, a crimson laser beam shot out and severed the Love Me Chain, sending Venus toppling backward.

"Your robot has laser tech?" Mercury demanded of Dr. Heiwajima.

"As a cutting tool!" he replied. "It's not supposed to attack humans! It was never made with offensive capabilities! I understand Asimov's Laws! They were programmed into the A-I!"

The laser tracked across the pavement, seeking out Sailor Venus. Venus rolled away and scrambled to her feet. Mercury was about to bring her ice powers to bear.

"Mars! Do you have a shot?" Jupiter shouted at Mars, who had been hanging back.

Without comment, Mars stepped forward and steepled her two fingers before her face.

"Fire Soul!" she shouted. Ignition was immediate, the spark building in seconds into a massive fireball. The senshi willed the fireball forward. It struck the robot and seemed to burn even hotter and brighter on contact. Enveloped in flame, the robot disappeared from view. Everyone watching had to shield their eyes from the intensity of the fire.

When it dissipated, all that was left was slag steel, aluminum and silicon, as well as a puddle of molten asphalt. Jupiter whistled.

"Wow. Real burn on him," Venus quipped. Mercury and Dr. Heiwajima ran up. Also coming up was another couple. Mercury's visor warned her of their approach.

"Serenity, I asked you to stay back!" Mercury fussed. Serenity saw the remnants of the robot. Her reaction didn't seem too disappointed by the outcome and Mercury attributed that to the Queen's dislike of humanoid mechanisms.

"Did you have to destroy it?" moaned Dr. Heiwajima.

"It was a danger," Mars replied sharply, "to everyone!" Jupiter put her hand on Mars' shoulder.

"It's OK," Jupiter told her. "You did what you had to. We're not blaming you."

"Though the city may send you a bill for the section of street you trashed," Venus added with a smirk. She received a withering glare from Mars.

"Papa!" a child cried. Turning, everyone saw a five year old girl emerge from the Akaruimirai plant and run toward them. She had black hair and quiet, contemplative features, but worry and anxiety over her father overrode those impressions. She ran up to Dr. Heiwajima and he pulled her to him, kissing her cheek.

"It's all right. It's over," he whispered to the child. Glancing at the others, he said, "This is my daughter, Madako. She was there when the - - accident happened."

"About that accident," Mercury began. "Dr. Heiwajima, I'm requesting that you submit all information concerning this project to me at the palace for review."

"Why?" he demanded.

"Because your project has been demonstrated to be a potential hazard to the general public," Endymion answered. He was holding Setsuko in his arms. "All information will be kept in strict confidence. But the palace wants to find out what went wrong and if there is a potential of it happening again before it will be permitted to continue."

"But this is a Akaruimirai project!" Heiwajima protested. "Akaruimirai is a privately held company!"

"And my wife and I have the authority to act without restriction to protect the general population," Endymion replied. "Perhaps we can even find the flaw that will help your project past this - - bump in the road."

"Akaruimirai will have something to say about this," Heiwajima said with restrained anger. Little Madako clutched his leg.

"My phone number isn't a secret," Endymion replied.

* * *

When the Senshi arrived back at the palace, they broke off in individual directions. Rei headed straight for her quarters. Ami was lecturing Serenity about endangering herself by approaching the battle, while Serenity nodded in an attempt to conceal the fact that she was ignoring everything Ami said. She carried Setsuko up to the Royal Chambers. Endymion headed for his office to deal with the inevitable blowback from the Akaruimirai Corporation. Makoto headed upstairs, but Minako could see it wasn't for the living quarters.

"Where you headed?" the blonde asked.

"Want to check in on how Yukio's coming with Endymion and Serenity's dinner," Makoto replied.

"Don't you trust her? Yukio's been cooking under you for a while now."

"I trust her," Makoto assured her friend.

"So then you admit that you're just a meddlesome old busybody?" Minako smirked.

"You're going to have a tough time playing Sailor Moon with a black eye, Blondie," Makoto shot back in competitive jest.

"THAT'S WHY THEY HAVE MAKEUP ARTISTS!" Minako called up the stairs.

In the kitchen that served both the palace cafeteria and the Royal Chambers, Yukio turned when she sensed a presence near her. She found Makoto looking over her shoulder. It was a familiar sight. Makoto was a wonderful person to work under and had been ever since the two first met when Yukio hired on at The Butterfly Palace. But Makoto just couldn't quite grasp the fact that she couldn't cook EVERYTHING and had to delegate. Since she wasn't overbearing about it, the palace cook staff endured it with good nature.

"Ikegami-Sama," Yukio nodded.

"Duck l'Orange, eh?" Makoto commented. "Serenity should get a charge out of that. Although I wonder about the effect the port will have."

"I'm making a special portion without wine for the little girl," Yukio assured her.

"I'm not talking about Setsuko-Chan," chuckled Makoto. "Obviously you've never seen Serenity when she's had alcohol. One is too many for her."

"Should I cook something else?"

"I think we'll risk it," Makoto replied, picking up a tasting spoon. "Although if she ends up dancing on the table with a couple of fans, you'll know why." She sampled the sauce. "Ooh! My goodness, that's bitter!"

"Bitter?" gasped Yukio. "What did I do wrong?"

In frustration, Yukio pulled the sauce from the fire. She stared at it for a moment, then poured the mixture down the sink. Makoto put her hand on the woman's shoulder.

"Happens to all of us," she counseled. "Luckily you still have time to start over."

"Thank you, Ikegami-Sama," Yukio mumbled. "I'll get started on another sauce."

Yukio began work, but immediately noticed that Makoto was still there. Makoto watched her work until she noticed Yukio was staring at her.

"You go ahead," urged Makoto without moving from her spot. "You'll do just fine!"

"Yes, Ikegami-Sama," sighed the chef.

In the Ikegami quarters, Sanjuro was working on a materials price list while at the same time trying to watch his two energetic children. Akiko, impatient for her mother's return so she could hear all about her latest exploit as Sailor Jupiter, was chasing her brother Ichiro around the room.

"Stop running," Sanjuro sighed, trying to concentrate. Since he no longer ran a restaurant and was loathe to return to the docks, Endymion had put him in charge of palace maintenance. His children, in strict deference to his position as parent and head of the household, continued to run with abandon. One more pass, he concluded, and he was going to have to get physical.

Just then, Makoto entered.

"Mom!" Akiko bellowed and raced for the woman, Ichiro trailing behind her. "Did you kick his butt?"

"Akiko," sighed Makoto. Her hand trembled slightly and Sanjuro noticed she looked tired and pale. "I'll tell you about it at dinner."

"You OK, Babe?" Sanjuro asked, intercepting her as she headed for the kitchen.

"I don't know," Makoto exhaled. "All of a sudden I feel a little anxious." She shook her head. "I've got to get dinner started."

"I'll do it if you're not up to it," Sanjuro offered.

"You?" Makoto grinned half-heartedly. "I think they're going to want something more than toast for dinner."

She touched his face, caressing the chin, then trudged into the kitchen. Sanjuro stared after her. Makoto's hand had felt cold against his skin.

"Is Mom sick?" Ichiro asked. The boy always seemed to worry when his mother fought as Sailor Jupiter.

Sanjuro shrugged helplessly. "Maybe the battle was tougher than she's letting on. Maybe it took a lot out of her." He thought a moment. "Akiko, maybe you should go in and help her." Akiko nodded soberly.

Five minutes later, the crash of a dish breaking on the floor pierced the air, followed by Akiko's screech of alarm. Sanjuro fled for the kitchen, Ichiro on his heels. Inside, they found Makoto sprawled on the floor on her side, amid the shattered remnants of a casserole dish. Her entire body was rigid and she was helpless in the throws of muscle spasms. Sanjuro knelt down beside her and touched the side of her neck. Makoto gurgled in pain, as if his touch had made her condition worse and vomited on the floor.

"Akiko! Call your Aunt Ami! Get her down here now!" barked the burly man. Akiko barreled out the door, the ten year old intent on her mission.

"Is Mom going to die?" whispered Ichiro fearfully.

"No, son," Sanjuro told him, even if he wasn't certain himself.

Continued in Chapter 4


	4. On Alert

THE CONSPIRACY WORE MY FACE  
Chapter 4: "On Alert"  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

"Given up?" the voice asked. It sounded like it was taunting her.

Rei had given up, in trying to reach the mystic circle around her at least. Her captor had cunningly placed it out of her reach. Lashing out with her foot in the other direction had done as little as her hands had. Sailor Mars wasn't coming. And she couldn't depend on any of the other senshi to come. After a while, they'd miss her and search for her. But where would they look?

"Your Master seems to have thought of everything," Rei replied, trying not to let her voice tremble, for there were dark thoughts in the back of her mind of dousing and beatings. "So why is he keeping me alive?"

"I don't know," the hiss of a voice replied. "If it were up to me, you'd already be dead. There's no practical use in keeping you alive."

"Maybe he wants to use me as a hostage against Serenity," Rei probed. She heard the creature shift.

"Not likely," it chuckled. "If I had to guess, I'd say it's because he's taken with you. You're the type he's always favored: Long black hair, soft skin, deep penetrating eyes." It shifted again. "I don't see why he needs you. I could be everything . . ."

The voice stopped. It had revealed more than it had intended. Rei digested the last statement.

"Go on," she said.

"You'd like that," the voice snorted. "Just be quiet and sit there like a good little captive priestess. Don't make me discipline you."

The statement made her shudder involuntarily. It brought back more memories of dousing and beatings.

"You'd have to break the circle to do that," Rei countered. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to remind her guard of that, but Rei needed to reassert some strength in this equation. Then she felt fur brush her cheek again.

"Do I?" the voice asked.

Rei told herself that if she was right about who had her, the guardian would. If she was right.

* * *

"Babe, what is it?" Sanjuro implored her. Ichiro looked on, watching his mother convulse helplessly on the floor in a pool of her own vomit. The child, always nervous about his mother's safety whenever she became Sailor Jupiter, now was having those fears realized. Makoto struggled to say something, but all she could manage was a few grunts and gasps. There was fear and confusion in her eyes and that only made Ichiro and Sanjuro even more scared.

"Aunt Ami's on the way!" Akiko exclaimed, bursting back into the kitchen. Her eyes widened and her hands flew to her mouth when she saw how much worse her mother was in the few moments she'd been away.

And then from nothing Ami appeared, transported by Serenity. Instantly Ami grasped the situation and displaced Sanjuro at Makoto's side, while Serenity battled both some light-headedness and her own horror at seeing Makoto this way. Ami checked Makoto's pulse, noting the reaction Makoto had to her touch. Then she leaned in and sniffed.

"We have to get her to a hospital," Ami proclaimed urgently, "immediately!"

It was all Serenity needed to hear. Heedless of her own dizziness, the Queen leaned in, placing one hand on Makoto and the other on Ami. Then the three faded from view, just as Endymion and Luna raced into the room.

"Where did Aunt Usagi take Mom?" cried Ichiro.

"I can sense her," Endymion announced. "Gather your family, Sanjuro. I'll drive you."

Materializing in the Emergency Room of Toranomon Hospital, Ami looked around. Both Makoto and Serenity were down now. Frantically she waved over a nurse and two orderlies.

"I've got severe strychnine poisoning here!" she barked to a nurse. "I need an IV of activated charcoal and a Phenobarbital injection, and an exam room! Stat!"

An orderly helped Ami lift Makoto onto a table, no small task. But the other personnel were transfixed by the other unconscious woman.

"That's," exclaimed another nurse in shock, "Queen Serenity!"

"She needs to be started on oxygen and fluids!" Ami shouted as she moved with Makoto's table into an exam room. "And have another physician monitor her in case shock sets in!"

As the door closed behind her, Ami took a last glance back at Serenity. Serenity's reaction worried her and she wanted to go to her. But Makoto was worse off at the moment and she had, her doctor's ethics told her, to stay with the worse off patient.

* * *

Derek looked up at the sound of the door. Rei walked in. They locked eyes and she smiled warmly. Derek put down his cell phone. Recently Rei had become very demonstrative, even playful. Maybe it was some sign that she was clinging to him as a way to forget her trauma and the depression that had followed. Maybe it was a sign that Makoto's talks were finally helping her. Derek didn't care. It was good to see some of the passion back in Rei's eyes, not just passion for him, but passion for life.

"How'd things go with the latest 'threat to life as we know it'?" Derek asked teasingly. Rei sauntered over and sat on his lap, draping her arms around him.

"Make fun," Rei pouted. "That machine was a genuine threat." She smiled proudly. "Until it met my 'Fire Soul' attack, that is."

"Given the way you feel about machines, I doubt you were heartbroken," Derek grinned. "Feel like you're coming back?"

"Feels like I'm coming back. I'm not there yet," Rei nodded. Then she snuggled her cheek against Derek's. "Which just means I'm going to need a little more tender loving care."

"I've got all the TLC you'll need, Baby," Derek said, squeezing her to him.

"So," Rei began, her finger lightly tracing a pattern on Derek's chest, "who were you talking to?"

"Can't read it?"

"No," Rei whispered somberly. Instantly regretting the question, Derek kissed her on the cheek.

"That was the General Manager of the Yomiyuri Giants," Derek explained. "He was sounding me out about playing for them when the league resumes next April."

"I thought you'd retired," Rei questioned him.

"From American ball," Derek responded. "I'm too old to make the show. And playing out the string in the minors is pointless. But if I'm going to be in Japan anyway," and his hand slithered under Rei's priest robes. She swatted it away and gave him a look of playful warning. "You think I should turn him down?"

"Do you think you can still play?" Rei asked him. "I know you don't want to just hang on and dishonor your past accomplishments."

"Won't know until spring training," Derek shrugged. "I'm still in pretty good shape. I think I can still hit. And it's not like I'm doing anything important at the moment. Y'all's Japanese Youth Leagues are too structured."

"If you want to do it, and you think you can still perform at an adequate level, I say do it," Rei told him. Then she smirked. "But only if you get me a season pass."

"Right behind the home dugout?" Derek asked, a smile blooming on his lips. And just that suddenly, Rei's communicator went off.

"Rei," Luna said over the communicator, "Makoto has taken ill. Her Majesty and Ami have already taken her to hospital. I imagine you'll wish to be there as well." The message cut off.

"I," Rei began, staring at nothing with a look of utter shock and confusion, "I-I-I have to go." Mechanically she got up. Derek rose with her.

"You want me to drive you?" he asked, his hands on her back and arm to support her. Rei looked at him, unable at first to comprehend the offer.

"Thank you," the priest responded, on the verge of tears. She allowed him to lead her out of the room.

* * *

In the emergency examination room at Toranomon Hospital, Queen Serenity lay quietly, almost solemnly, on the exam table. An IV solution was providing her with nutrients while an oxygen mask over her face aided her in breathing. A staff physician and a nurse monitored her while King Endymion hovered close by. The two staff people tried to do their jobs without dwelling on who they were working on, as well as who was hovering, since they didn't know he was a doctor as well and they really didn't have the authority to remove him.

Endymion had been there since arriving with the Ikegami family, who were waiting outside the room next to this one. His eyes constantly darted back and forth between Serenity and the portable vital sign monitor in the room. If her vital signs dipped below a certain level, he was prepared to use his golden energy to renew her. So far she hadn't needed it. Endymion kept telling himself that it was an emergency that had forced her to expend so much of herself. It didn't make it any less scary.

The door opened. Rei eased in timidly.

"You can't come in here," the nurse began. She grew quiet when Endymion silently indicated it was all right.

"How is she?" Rei asked apprehensively.

"Stable," Endymion answered. "Is Minako with you?"

"She's in with Makoto," Rei told him. "Was she - - poisoned?"

Endymion turned to her. "Why would you think she was poisoned?"

Rei looked at him for a moment. "Well, I heard Makoto was poisoned," and she swallowed, "and I was afraid . . ."

Endymion nodded. "She just over-extended herself." The King fell silent, like he was grappling with something distasteful. "I'm sorry to ask this of you, and of Minako. I know you're worried about Serenity and Makoto both. But I need you both to go back to the palace."

"Why?" Rei asked.

"The possibility exists that someone intentionally did this, either to strike at Makoto or to strike at Serenity and myself. I need you two to coordinate with Luna and Artemis, and palace security, to find out for certain and to apprehend this person as soon as possible. Any means necessary. Bring in Metro Police if you feel you have to. Bring in the Outers if it will help. And Rei - - I know you've been having some problems. I don't like to press, but please use any powers or spiritual abilities you still have to find this person before someone else gets hurt."

Rei swallowed, then grew resolute. "We'll do our best." Then she glanced at Serenity and smiled. "I think she's waking up."

Endymion turned as Rei eased out the door to collect Minako. Serenity seemed disoriented for a moment, then noticed the oxygen mask and reached to pull it off. Endymion caught her hand.

"Leave it on, please," he said.

"Mako-Chan?" Serenity mumbled.

"Ami is treating her," Endymion said and Serenity was instantly relieved.

"What happened?"

"She - - came in contact somehow with strychnine and was poisoned."

"Ami-Chan gave her the antidote?"

Endymion hesitated. "There is no antidote for strychnine." Serenity's eyes widened in alarm. "Strychnine doesn't kill by itself. Strychnine induces severe muscle contraction. The strain of the contractions and spasms either send the victim into cardiac fibrillation or they can't draw enough breath and suffocate." He put his hand on Serenity's shoulder. "All we can do is try to control the spasms until the strychnine can be flushed from her blood. If Makoto survives for twenty-four hours, she should be all right."

"If?" Serenity gasped.

And she was up from the table in an instant, ripping the IV and the oxygen mask from her body. Endymion blocked her from further movement.

"Serenity, you are still too . . .!"

"DON'T say it!" Serenity spat. It was the absolute maddest he could ever recall seeing her. "Mako-Chan is one of my oldest, dearest friends! I am NOT going to watch her die and do nothing just because it might hurt me somehow!"

"Makoto wouldn't want you to do this," Endymion advised her.

"Then she's wrong!" Serenity responded.

And like a ghost, Serenity passed right through her husband and through the wall separating the cubicles. Endymion stood for a moment, cursing the fates that had required him to oppose her nobility. Then, as the astounded doctor and nurse looked on, Endymion turned and headed for the door. Outside the cubicle, he found a dozen hospital personnel and a pair of reporters waiting. Pushing through them all, the King walked to Makoto's cubicle. Outside the door, Sanjuro was trying to calm his fearful children. Endymion walked right past them into the room.

There he found Ami struggling to pull Serenity off of Makoto, while Makoto lay on her side and trembled involuntarily.

"Serenity, no!" Ami cried. "It's too great of a risk!" Then Ami was grasping nothing. Serenity had passed through her hands. She was about to touch Makoto.

"Just a moment," Endymion said. Serenity glared a challenge at him. "Ami, think of the chemical composition of strychnine." Ami complied. "Serenity, can you read that?"

Confused for a moment, Serenity reached out and touched Ami's forehead with her finger. After a moment, she nodded.

"Narrow the focus of your power," Endymion told her. "You're not trying to remake Makoto's physical form. You're just trying to eliminate that specific chemical composition from her body." He choked. "It - - shouldn't be as much of a strain."

Though recriminations stilled her tongue, Serenity silently conveyed grudging gratitude to her husband. Her hands took on a silver glow as she reached down and placed them on Makoto's shoulders. Makoto seized up more severely, causing Serenity to pull back fearfully.

"That's a normal reaction, Serenity," Ami told her. "Go ahead."

Serenity put her hands on Makoto again. Her eyes closed as she concentrated on locating and dissipating the specific chemical compound for strychnine. Endymion and Ami, as well as the attending nurse, watched helplessly.

Makoto began to calm. The twitching slowly died away. After a while that seemed like a lifetime, she lay placidly on the exam table. Ami leaned in and touched Serenity.

"I think that's got it," she said.

Serenity sagged backwards and was caught by Endymion.

"Will she be all right?" Serenity mumbled distantly.

"I'll do a blood test to be certain," Ami replied. "But the spasms have stopped and her pulse and respiration are normal. That's usually the best sign." Serenity smiled wanly.

"Now unless there are more objections, it's back to your oxygen mask, My Dear," Endymion said gently. He scooped her up in his arms.

"Yes, Mamo-Chan," she sighed, using his old name in her confusion. "I'm sorry I was cross with you."

"I know," he whispered, cradling her to him. Exiting the cubicle, shielding his wife from the press and the on-lookers, Endymion turned to Sanjuro. "She'll still be out for a few hours because of the Phenobarbital," he told the man, "but she's out of danger. Go on in."

Akiko burst through the door, followed closely by Ichiro. Sanjuro paused long enough to nod a "thank you", then followed them in.

* * *

Arriving back at the palace, Minako and Rei, accompanied by Derek Johnson, tried to attack the problem assigned them and not be distracted by worry over Serenity and Makoto. Luna greeted the two at the palace door.

"Any word?" Minako asked the cat.

"None as yet," Luna told them.

"How does Endymion expect us to find anything now?" Rei protested. "Assuming there's even anything to find?"

"It got into her somehow," Minako frowned.

"Artemis did some quick research," Luna explained. "Strychnine usually begins working on humans within fifteen to twenty minutes of exposure. Therefore, we only need to examine the twenty minutes prior to her demonstrating symptoms for possible exposure points."

"Twenty minutes?" Rei said. "We were all driving back from Akaruimirai. Do you suppose she was exposed to something at Akaruimirai?"

"Possible," Minako shrugged. "But why just her? If it was accidental, why have strychnine at a robotics plant? If it was intentional, why not all of us?"

"I'll have Artemis examine that line of inquiry," Luna said. "What about when you all arrived here?"

"I went straight to my quarters," Rei recalled. "I assume Makoto did, too."

"No," Minako frowned. "She stopped by the kitchen first. You know how obsessive Makoto is about making sure dinner is perfect." Realization hit. "Dinner. Luna, have palace security lock down the main kitchen, then sweep it for signs of strychnine." She grasped Rei by the sleeve of her priest robes. "Come on. Maybe that priest mumbo-jumbo of yours will spot something the security types can't see."

"But," Rei hesitated, "my sight isn't back!"

Minako gave her a confident look. "Can't hurt anybody to look. Anybody but the bad guy, that is."

Reluctantly Rei allowed Minako to lead her to the kitchen while Luna contacted King Endymion to trade status updates.

Continued in Chapter 5


	5. A Revelation

THE CONSPIRACY WORE MY FACE  
Chapter 5: A Revelation  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

"Himura-Sama?" the thought traveled over the grounds surrounding the Crystal Palace and out across and past Tokyo proper, seeking the only individual who could sense it. "Can you sense me, Master?"

"I sense you," came the reply. "Continue."

"My first attempt has failed, Master. Queen Serenity lives. One of her retainers was poisoned in her place."

There was silence and the one transmitting her thoughts feared she had angered Himura.

"Where is she now?" her master asked. "And the King. Where is he?"

"Both are together," she thought back. "They are in Toranomon Hospital. I cannot get at them to try again. They are on their guard now."

"You must try again," came the reply. "You must do it now. The longer you wait, the less chance you will have to succeed."

"But how, Master?"

"You are very clever," came the response. "You will think of a way."

And the voice in her mind was gone, replaced by another voice she didn't recognize at first. When she focused, Rei found Minako standing before her, staring at her.

"You sense something?" Minako asked hopefully.

"I," Rei began, her mind racing. Then she looked down. "No."

Minako put her hand on Rei's shoulder. "I'm worried about them, too. But we've got a job to do, which means YOU need to focus. No zoning out."

"Never thought I'd hear YOU say that," Rei scowled.

"Yeah! Me either!" chuckled Minako. One of the palace security personnel emerged from the kitchen.

"We found traces of strychnine in a sink trap," he reported. The security officer led them in. Watching in agitated confusion was the kitchen cooking staff. "This one here."

"Who used this sink this afternoon?" Minako demanded. Several of the staff pointed at Yukio, the ranking chef. Minako turned to Rei. "Rei," she said, nodding toward Yukio. The priest reluctantly approached the chef.

"What's this all about?" Yukio asked nervously as Rei stared at her intently. "They said that Ikegami-Sama was poisoned! You think I did it?"

Rei continued to stare. Yukio swallowed fearfully and stared back, held by the priest's intense violet eyes. The other staff began to murmur. But after a while, Rei turned away.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I can't see anything."

"Then we'll just have to do it the old-fashioned way," Minako replied. Looking at Yukio, Minako asked, "What all did you pour down that sink?"

"Just some sauce I was making for Duck l'Orange," Yukio protested. "Ikegami-Sama said it tasted bitter."

"Bet that was the transmission point," Minako nodded. "So, you always season your sauce with a little strychnine?"

"STRYCHNINE?" Yukio gasped. "Is that what happened to Ikegami-Sama?" Yukio reeled back and Minako, being an expert on performances, didn't think it was an act. "I could have tasted . . . Ikegami-Sama! Is she all right?"

"Who else was around the sauce besides you?" Minako asked.

"Nobody," Yukio shook her head. "Nobody except Ikegami-Sama and myself."

"Wait," Amari spoke up. "Don't you remember? You caught that one girl looking at the sauce pan while it cooked. You know, that new cafeteria worker. What was her name - - Nansi?"

Minako signaled one of the security guards and he exited. "Describe this Nansi."

"Young," Amari began, "about nineteen I guess. Short brown hair. Very beautiful. I noticed that right off. I'd never seen her before. But then, the Queen is hiring new people all the time."

"What do you think?" Minako asked Rei.

"I think we need to find this girl as soon as possible," Rei replied resolutely.

* * *

Rei noticed someone descending the steps of the root cellar where she was being held prisoner. Her mind flashed back to when she would hear the footfalls of her jailer when the Sons Of Ymir held her. It took all of her will to keep from whimpering, because that usually meant one of two things: Meal time or a beating. Her ear caught the scrape of clawed feet on the floor of the cellar. One more piece of evidence to back her theory as to who held her and plotted against the King and Queen.

"Master?" Rei heard her guard inquire.

"Kokatsuna has failed," he told her. A smile curled around Rei's mouth.

"Send me, Master!" the other pleaded. "I will succeed where Kokatsuna failed! I will bring you Queen Serenity's head on a stick!"

"That isn't the plan, Reikokuna," her master advised her. "You have another task. Have you been preparing?"

"I have, Master," Reikokuna stated. "But despite the priest's diminished spirit and her fear, she is very powerful. I'm not certain I can do it yet."

There was silence.

"Forgive me, Master!" Reikokuna pleaded. "I do my best! Given time, I can . . .!"

She stopped suddenly, as if her master had gestured for silence.

"Go ahead and say it," Rei said. "I've already figured it out. She's a fox spirit - - a Kitsune-yako, to be precise. And the only reason you'd keep me alive, knowing what I know, is if you intend for her to perform Kitsunetsuki on me." Rei paused a moment to scowl in distaste. "She possesses me and you and she live happily ever after as Master and Concubine."

Through the dark haze that was over her spiritual force, Rei could almost sense the rising anxiety level of the fox spirit at having been found out.

"And that means that you're a Tsukimono-suji," Rei continued. "Is that where we are? Your ancestral family home?"

"Master!" gasped the fox spirit.

"Her knowing is of no consequence," came the reply. "It might even be amusing to watch her struggle to defeat what she can't defeat. Yes, priest, I am a Tsukimono-suji. I inherited the mantel from my - - late wife. She was a hereditary practitioner of fox magic, as was her mother and her mother before, going back nearly two hundred years. I am Isamu Himura and this is her ancestral home in a small village east of Tokyo. Here we have lived with Kitsune-yako who do our bidding and gain us much power and respect."

Rei could hear him approach, feel him kneel down just outside the circle that acted as a barrier against her transforming into Sailor Mars.

"My late wife was content to lord it over farmers and towns people. I longed for more," Isamu continued. "With the ability of my foxes to transform into humans and conjure up illusions, I could be more than just the power behind a village. But before it never seemed worth it. Ever since the war, Japan has been a parliamentary democracy, its ruling power diffused among a Prime Minister, a cabinet and a legislature. I could have easily had one of my Kitsune-yako take over the identity of the Prime Minister, or even the Emperor, but to what end? They still answered to the legislature and even I didn't have that many Kitsune-yako."

Rei could almost feel him smile.

"But then the country gave absolute power to Sailor Moon," Isamu said. "And I saw my chance."

"Your Kitsune-yako are going to substitute themselves for Queen Serenity and King Endymion?" Rei gasped. "And you rule behind them?"

"Once they're eliminated," Isamu replied. "Kokatsuna tried to poison the King and Queen just today, but she missed. However, she'll try again. She's very resourceful and very obedient. Both of my Kitsune-yako are."

Reikokuna emitted a sound that was almost like an emission of joy. Rei pictured her captor stroking the side of the fox's muzzle. The priest strained at the handcuffs holding her arms behind the pole.

"Reikokuna," he began, "I think you should begin the Kitsunetsuki."

"But Master," Reikokuna demurred. "It would be better if she were weaker - - dispirited. I fear she will resist the possession."

"I have confidence in you," Isamu told her. Rei could mentally picture the fox spirit's chest swelling with pride and perhaps something more.

Immediately Rei clamped her hands into fists in order to hide her fingernails. Moments after, Rei felt a pressure against her breasts. She wondered if the combination of her heavy priest's robes and her spiritual presence would be enough to resist the Kitsune-yako spell.

"Help me, Kaasan," Rei thought, concentrating on resisting the fox magic. "Help me, Grandpa. Lend me your strength, for Serenity's sake as well as my own."

* * *

Barreling down a corridor of the Crystal Palace, shoving aside anyone who got in her way, was a beautiful nineteen year old woman with short brown hair. She was running from the cafeteria, where the cafeteria supervisor had identified her to Minako Aino and Rei Hino as Nansi Shirowada. Upon seeing Minako, the woman had turned and fled the cafeteria, with Minako in hot pursuit. Now she was fleeing as if death itself was nipping at her heels.

As she ran, Minako was on her communicator calling in palace security. Though this woman was easily outdistancing Minako, which Minako found a deflating blow to her ego, the veteran senshi knew escape was a very slim prospect. Rei was circling around the other corridor linked to the cafeteria, to cut off the escaping woman, and palace security was coming from the other end. Within moments they'd have her surrounded, unless in her blind panic the woman did something incredibly drastic.

"You went with drastic? Really?" Minako muttered as Nansi took the only open route available to her: the door to one of the balconies overlooking the palace grounds.

"Stay back!" Nansi shouted, her face a kaleidoscope of fear and desperation. One foot was on the balcony railing. Minako stopped at the door. She felt Rei and a palace guard arrived behind her moments later.

"Hey, no need for that," Minako said, trying to calm her. "We just want to talk to you."

"No talk!" Nansi screamed. "Go away!"

"Look, don't do anything you don't have to," Rei advised her. "You don't have anything to fear. I know Serenity. She'll forgive you." As she spoke, Minako began to inch forward. "And if someone is forcing you to do this, we'll protect you."

Seeing Minako, Nansi climbed up onto the railing. Minako froze.

"Look, you don't have to do this!" Minako barked. "I know it looks grim, but it's not! There's no disgrace! There's no reason to go all traditional! Come in and let us help you!"

Nansi paused for a moment and Minako actually thought she had reached the woman. Then Nansi turned and dove off of the railing and let gravity take over. Minako, Rei and the guard peered over, hoping she'd landed in soft dirt. But the angle of the neck on the body below told them that hope for that particular outcome had gone.

"I thought I got to her," mumbled Minako. She noticed Rei head in. "Where are you headed?"

"Fire reading," Rei replied. "Maybe the gods will take pity on me and tell me who is behind this."

Minako let her go. It was worth a shot. Meanwhile, she needed Artemis to delve into the history of this Nansi Shirowada.

* * *

Ami slid into the emergency room cubicle, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible so as not to attract the attention of the press and the curious. They were cramming into the hospital emergency ward to such a degree that hospital security had been called to hold them back and the police were on their way. Endymion looked up at her and smiled. He was sitting next to Serenity's exam table, holding her hand.

"Ami-Chan, when are they going to let me out of here?" whimpered Serenity. Ami could tell her longtime friend was in declining humor.

"When they're certain you're well," Ami responded in her best bedside manner. "You're very important to a lot of people, a fact demonstrated by the crowds out in the ER."

"Oh, poo," the Queen huffed. "You won't listen to me anymore than Endymion will."

"You may say you're fine, but your pulse is still elevated and I'll believe that before I believe you," Endymion told her.

"A fine thing," she groused. "Is Mako-Chan going to be OK?"

"A full recovery," Ami nodded. "She's coming out of the effects of the Phenobarbital with no sign of any lingering trauma. I'm sure she can thank you for that."

"You helped her, too, Ami-Chan," Serenity offered.

"Yes, but you made certain she had a full recovery. I could only offer up the possibility of one. And you did it without doing any permanent damage to yourself. Luck was certainly on your side."

"Oh dear, she's going to scold me," Serenity sighed, glancing at her husband. She noticed Endymion was looking at his cell phone. "What is it?"

"Oh," Endymion mumbled and shoved the phone in his pocket, "nothing."

"Endymion," Serenity replied with a cocked eyebrow.

"All right," he frowned. "That was a text from Luna. She says Makoto was poisoned by accident - - that we were the intended targets."

"Do they have a suspect?" Ami asked with mounting interest as Serenity gasped in alarm.

"Had," Endymion replied. "When Minako and Rei confronted her, the woman tried to escape. She ended up," and he glanced at his wife, "jumping to her death from a balcony."

"Oh that's terrible," Serenity whispered. "What could have possibly motivated her to do that? And why try to poison us?"

"Artemis and Rei are checking," he informed them. "And Minako's contacted Superintendent Sakurada."

"I'd be interested to see what is uncovered," Ami murmured, deep in thought. "I'd also like to be there for the post-mortem."

Just then, the door opened. A nurse started to enter, but stopped when she saw Ami.

"Oh! Dr. Fujihara! Forgive me for interrupting!" she apologized. The woman was young and to Ami and Endymion's eye quiet beautiful. She had long silken black hair pinned to regulation length and an unadorned face that was still quite striking, with high cheekbones, deep penetrating green eyes and a full mouth. "I'll come back."

"What did you need, nurse?" Ami asked.

"I was just checking on-on Her Majesty's condition," the nurse explained.

"Does EVERYBODY have to call me that?" Serenity muttered peevishly.

"The floor nurse thought it might be a good idea to check in on her periodically," the nurse continued. Though she was wearing hospital scrubs, it was difficult to conceal her willowy figure.

"And it gave you an opportunity to actually meet Queen Serenity up close?" Ami asked knowingly. The nurse smiled timidly at being caught. "Actually Queen Serenity is nearly ready to be discharged. Please ask the floor nurse to prepare her discharge papers."

"Yes, Ma'am," the nurse nodded and exited as unobtrusively as she could.

"Nurse," Ami said and the woman stopped. "How did you know my name? I'm not a resident at this hospital."

"Well," the nurse began tentatively, "forgive me, but everybody knows Queen Serenity's senshi. You're more famous than you think, Doctor." Ami nodded and the nurse disappeared out the door.

"You were a little curt with her," Endymion observed. "After all, it isn't every day this hospital has a celebrity in its ER."

"Oh? Who's here?" Serenity asked. She and Endymion exchanged smiles.

"I worked in an ER," Ami replied. "It's not a place to indulge in celebrity worship. Not if it interferes with the smooth conduct of business." She came over and touched Serenity's hand. "I meant that about being discharged. You're well enough to go home - - PROVIDED you take it easy. No healing. No levitation. No miracles. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Ami-Chan," moaned Serenity. "What about Mako-Chan?"

"The hospital is keeping her overnight, just in case," Ami informed her. "But as I said, in my opinion she's past the dangerous part."

"Good enough for me," Serenity proclaimed. "So, Endymion, when we get home, are you going to carry me to bed?"

"I insist," Endymion replied.

"So what are we waiting for?" Serenity giggled.

"The discharge papers," Ami explained. "And your police escort to arrive."

"POLICE ESCORT?" howled the Queen. "Ami-Chan! Is that really necessary?"

"Obviously you haven't seen the crowd that's gathered outside of the hospital," Ami told her. "Since you're under strict orders not to teleport or levitate, a police escort is the only means of getting you two through that mob of well-wishers and curiosity hounds. Not to mention the press. Endymion, perhaps you and Luna should think about issuing some sort of statement to the press concerning this." The King nodded thoughtfully.

And outside the room, the beautiful nurse lingered by the door and listened to what was being said inside with her keen fox hearing. Kokatsuna had been prevented again from striking at the King and Queen, as her master had ordered. With their guard up, the task would only get more difficult for her. But she would keep trying.

She really didn't have a choice.

Continued in Chapter 6


	6. Fox Tricks

THE CONSPIRACY WORE MY FACE  
Chapter 6: Fox Tricks  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

"The question on the lips of every person in Tokyo and in all of Japan," began the comely panel moderator on the morning public affairs program, "is whether Queen Serenity is again the target of an assassin. We'll be discussing this question as this morning's topic. But first, we go to Aya Nagoya with the morning's headlines."

"Press speculation," Luna commented as she and Artemis watched the program on the television in Minako's quarters, "certainly hasn't wasted any time. And of course let's not allow facts to enter into the discussion."

"You want facts, tune to NHK," Artemis mumbled. Luna glanced at him and couldn't tell if the white cat was intent on the discussion or on the woman reading the news.

"The Crystal Palace was the scene of another attempt on the life of the woman Japan elected to be its uncontested monarch," the news reader said. "Facts on both the attempt itself and the assassin are still unconfirmed, but what is confirmed is that one of the Royal Family's vaunted Sailor Senshi is currently confined to Toranomon Hospital with undisclosed injuries from the attack. A statement released by the Crystal Palace confirms an attempt was made, but did not go into specifics other than to say the King and Queen are unharmed and that an investigation is ongoing."

"You always were good at writing press releases that sounded definitive and still remained vague where it counts," chuckled Artemis

"If you ask my opinion," sniffed Luna, "the police would do well to investigate that Morobishi woman. Her Majesty was a little too hasty to place her trust in that person's reformation."

"Exactly what Superintendent Sakurada plans to do," Minako said, trudging into the room with one bleary eye open. She wore nothing but gold panties and a baggy t-shirt with a Three Lights logo on it. Her hair was mussed, the red ribbon she always wore missing. "Talked to her last night - - or was it this morning?"

"This is early for you," Artemis commented, "considering how late you were last night."

"Yeah, last time I checked, you weren't my dad, Fuzzy," grunted Minako. "Besides, who could sleep with you two in here smooching and groping each other."

"We were doing no such thing!" huffed Luna.

"Why not? You two had the room to yourselves. What are you, repressed or something?"

"WELL!" Luna roared.

"Mina! Manners!" Artemis cautioned.

"OK, I'm sorry you're repressed," Minako mumbled. "You find out anything, Fuzzy?"

"Yeah," the white cat said. "There is no record of a Nansi Shirowada being hired for the cafeteria, or to work anywhere in the palace." Both Minako and Luna nodded like this wasn't a surprise. "In fact, there's no record of a Nansi Shirowada existing anywhere in Japan. The last hit I got on the name was a nineteen year old woman who was killed in a Tomisato auto accident in 1995."

"OK, I'm awake now," Minako stated with a haunted look. "You're saying a ghost is trying to off Serenity and Endymion?"

"Of course not," sighed Artemis. "This assassin could have pulled the name out of the census records, off a cemetery headstone or out of thin air. The point is she faked her way past security and into the palace, posing as a cafeteria worker. I, um, 'downloaded' a shot of her face from the coroner's files and I'm running a computer search to see if I get a hit on a. . ." He stopped when his laptop signaled. "Hey, I got a hit."

The cat's eyes bugged out. Luna and Minako both looked at him curiously.

"Best match the computer could come up with," Artemis said distantly, "was the Nansi Shirowada who died in 1995."

"Well I'm creeped out," Minako quipped anxiously. "I think I better go see Rei about a ghost. You keep digging, Artemis. And don't let Luna tempt you with her sexy feline ways."

"Uncouth lout," scowled Luna.

Once she was dressed and, in her mind, presentable, Minako traveled down to the Shinto shrine in the palace. Easing in, so as not to disturb Rei if she was engaged, Minako looked around. Rei wasn't evident in the outer room. Softly making her way deeper inside, Minako began peeking behind cracked open doors. The second door found Rei. Minako saw her friend kneeling before a fire pit, deep in concentration and softly chanting before a roaring fire. Silently Minako closed the door and tiptoed out.

"I'll ask her later," Minako thought. "If she's that deep in concentration, maybe she's actually seeing something. That would be real good, both for her sake and for the sake of this case.

* * *

The door to the Morobishi mansion opened. A burly bodyguard escorted Superintendent Natsuna Sakurada and the two officers accompanying her into the front hall. They waited while the bodyguard announced them. Moments later, Shiho Morobishi entered the hall.

"Superintendent," Morobishi nodded with diplomatic neutrality. "Is this business or social? I wouldn't think someone of your high office would still involve herself in ordinary police investigations."

"I would if the investigation involves an assassination attempt on the Royal Family," Sakurada replied, equally neutral. She noticed Morobishi's eyebrow cock slightly.

"Then the news reports are true," Shiho said. "And in the course of your investigation, my name would naturally come up. Please step into my office. I can video-conference our discussion with my attorney from there."

"Do you feel the need for an attorney?" Sakurada asked.

"A woman can't be too careful," Shiho answered.

Inside the office, Sakurada sat in a chair across from Morobishi's desk while the two officers stood guard at the door. Morobishi worked her computer to video link with the computer of her attorney so he could advise her in real time. Flanking her were two standard Yakuza toughs as her bodyguards.

"What did you want to know, Superintendent?" Shiho began pleasantly.

"Do you know a Nansi Shirowada," Sakurada inquired, leaning over to hand her a photo, "or someone who looks like this person."

Shiho frowned at the photo. "She clearly met a grisly end. Queen Serenity's people certainly are thorough. It makes you wonder about all of her talk about 'peace and love'." She pushed the photo back to Sakurada. "I don't know the woman. I've never heard of Nansi Shirowada. And before you ask, no order came from me or any of my subordinates to try to harm either Queen Serenity or King Endymion. My differences with Serenity-Hime will be settled through peaceful negotiation. She convinced me to get out of the violence business."

Sakurada watched Morobishi's reaction, silently judging it. "Yes, she can be very persuasive," Sakurada said finally. "But even though you're 'legitimate' now, you still have connections you haven't severed. If you happen to learn of anything connected with this investigation, you or your attorney will let us know, won't you?"

"Of course," Shiho said. "Was that all?"

"For now," Sakurada replied, standing. "If more information comes to light, I may be contacting you again."

Gathering her two officer escorts, Sakurada turned and exited the room. One of the bodyguards followed them to make sure they left.

"You weren't involved in this, were you, Morobishi-San?" the attorney asked over the real time link.

"No. But Serenity-Hime is wealthy in many things," Shiho replied distantly, "and one of them is enemies."

* * *

Ami Fujihara entered the coroner's office and presented herself at the reception area. A clerk looked up at her.

"I'm Dr. Ami Fujihara," she told the clerk. "I assume Tokyo Metro Police contacted you about my observing the Shirowada post-mortem."

The clerk pulled up a screen on his computer. "Yes, Doctor, they did. We were also contacted by the office of King Endymion himself. You seem to have a lot of pull." He glanced up at her. "You can get changed into scrubs in there. I'll notify Dr. Hiroyuki that he can begin when you're changed and ready." Ami nodded and headed for the room.

Five minutes later, Ami entered the operating theater where the Tokyo Coroner's Office performed autopsies. It resembled any other operating theater except for the sound and video equipment installed to record the coroner's surgeon and the surgeon's spoken observations. Dr. Hiroyuki was standing by the table. He was nearing fifty, with black horn-rimmed glasses, salt and pepper hair and mustache, and a lined, wizened face that had become the stereotypical image of the school headmaster in Japanese entertainment media. As she entered, he bowed to her and Ami returned the gesture.

"Welcome, Dr. Fujihara," he said. "Your reputation precedes you. I hope you won't be bored by this. If the autopsy wasn't mandatory because she was killed trying to escape a felony charge, I wouldn't even bother. It's obvious the fall killed her."

"A clue to this matter may yield itself from this," Ami advised him. "I assure you, I won't be bored."

Just then, a lab attendant burst into the theater in a high state of agitation. He spotted Dr. Hiroyuki and bowed swiftly.

"Hiroyuki-Sensei!" the attendant exclaimed. "The body is gone!"

Hiroyuki bolted for the man, Ami on his heels. "Find out everyone who accessed that room from the time that body was checked in!" he barked.

Entering the room where bodies were kept, a large room with a bank of fifty refrigerated human-sized drawers on one wall, Hiroyuki briefly consulted a manifest on a clipboard, then opened the drawer Nansi Shirowada was supposed to be in.

"An acorn?" Ami said in surprise.

"If this is a prank, somebody's going to get fired!" fumed Dr. Hiroyuki. He stormed out of the room, leaving Ami to lean against the drawer and stare. But she didn't stare in shock. Her great brain was trying to draw an inference from the acorn and extrapolate that into an explanation.

When Dr. Hiroyuki returned, he found Ami reading something on the computer screen on the storage unit attendant's desk.

"Are you e-mailing the palace?" he asked. "Rest assured, we will find the body."

"I wouldn't count on it," Ami said, still reading the page on her screen.

"This office is very thorough," he began.

"I'm not questioning your facility's competence, Doctor. I doubt there's a body to find," Ami told him. "The acorn reminded me of something I read in passing once, in order to try to better understand a friend of mine. Are you familiar with the legends of the Kitsune?"

"Are you suggesting a fox spirit stole the body?" Hiroyuki asked incredulously.

"Kitsune are infamous for their ability to mimic human forms, their ability to become invisible and for their ability to cast realistic illusions," Ami said, looking at the doctor for the first time. "I've been in contact with the palace and learned that they discovered 'Nansi Shirowada' was an alias. If my theory is correct, a Kitsune infiltrated the palace and tried to poison the King and Queen. During her attempted escape from Minako and Rei, she became invisible and cast an illusion which Minako and Rei chased onto the balcony. The illusion dove to her 'death' as a misdirection, allowing the Kitsune to either escape or return to a safer form. What your office picked up was that acorn, enchanted to make you believe it was a dead woman."

"Fantastic," Dr. Hiroyuki exclaimed. "You believe something like that in this day and age?"

"Over the years I've seen more than one thing that science would deem impossible," Ami told him, rising from the desk. She headed for the door. "Thank you for your time, Doctor. I told you I wouldn't be bored."

* * *

Serenity and Setsuko were eating lunch in the Royal Chambers. The meal had been screened by Palace Security and declared fit to eat. The two females, in between giggles, were eating heartily. One thing Setsuko had learned from her time with Serenity was how to eat voraciously. As they ate, Serenity reached over and mischievously plucked a vegetable from Setsuko's bowl.

"Mama!" Setsuko playfully fumed.

"I'm still a growing girl," grinned Serenity. "I need all the food I can get."

"So am I!" Setsuko argued. Just then, Luna burst into the room.

"Your Majesty!" the cat exclaimed. "Makoto and her family have returned from hospital! They're in the front foyer at this very moment!"

Serenity bolted from her chair. Imitating the Queen, Setsuko climbed down from her chair and scurried after her. Down in the Fourier, Makoto stood and looked around the palace, her two children each holding one of her hands. Sanjuro stood to the side, holding the bag of parting supplies the hospital had given her upon discharge. There was a grateful look on the woman's face. She knew how close her brush had come.

"MAKO-CHANNNNNNNN!" Serenity exclaimed as she flew down the steps on dainty feet and high-heeled slippers that shouldn't have kept her balance. The Queen launched herself at Makoto and captured the woman in a bear hug.

"Your Majesty," Luna sighed with growing fatigue. "Dignity."

As Setsuko, Akiko and Ichiro giggled, Serenity squeezed her friend, then pulled back. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Makoto smiled. "Pretty sore, but I'll live. Feels like I just ran three marathons in a row, though." Her smile dimmed and she glanced down. "San-San told me what happened. Any news?"

"Everyone's working on it," Serenity assured her. "Now come on upstairs and relax! I don't want you to do anything other than be with your husband and children and get your strength back!"

"But Serenity . . ."

"No 'buts'! That's an order!" Serenity barked. Then she weakened. "Please?"

Makoto chuckled. "Blondie's right. You do need to work on that."

* * *

Rei's head fell forward as much as her pinioned shoulders would allow it to droop. A breath shuddered out of her. She was physically, mentally and spiritually drained. Fighting off the fox spirit's attempt to possess her had been arduous. But she had succeeded in fending off the attempt. The deep breaths of exertion she had heard from the fox spirit Reikokuna had been music to her ears. That told the priest that the fox spirit was just as drained and wouldn't be trying another possession attempt for a while.

However, Rei knew she couldn't relax her guard. The fox would try again. She had to maintain her guard until she could find a way to escape the clutches of this Tsukimono-suji and his Kitsune-yako. Or until she was rescued.

Memories of two years in the hands of the Sons of Ymir made her wonder how likely a rescue was.

"Rei?" she heard a man say. And not just any man; it was Derek! "Hold on, Rei! I'll get you out of this!"

"Derek?" Rei exclaimed. "Is Serenity with you? Or the Senshi?"

"They're cleaning up things upstairs," Derek said. "Handcuffs. I've got to find something to pry those handcuffs off!"

"Derek! The circle around me!" Rei said anxiously. "Break the circle! It's keeping me from transforming!"

"Hold on! I've got something!" Derek told her. She heard footsteps approaching her. "I'll have those off in no time. Relax your hands."

But a thought crossed Rei's mind.

"Relax your hands, Rei," Derek repeated. "I don't want to hurt you when I pry these cuffs open."

"It won't work," Rei uttered, "Reikokuna."

Silence.

"That's low, even for a Kitsune-yako," she continued, trying to suppress her legendary temper. "Using Derek against me."

"Rei, I. . ."

"STOP IT!" Rei snapped. "If you're really Derek, destroy the circle." More silence. "I thought so. I may be diminished, but I can still recognize a Kitsune trick. You took Derek's form, trying to get me to expose my fingernails so you could possess me."

"Heh heh," she heard Reikokuna chuckle in the fox's unearthly voice. "I almost had you. And I must compliment you on your choice of lovers, Priest. This form is very strong. Maybe I can use it to force your hands open."

Gripping her hands into fists all the harder, Rei prepared for the latest attack. But her ears picked up another occupant of the room. Reikokuna picked up on the sound, too, because Rei heard her hiss out a warning to the third entity.

What followed was a physical struggle between the two. Still blindfolded, Rei could only listen as the two combatants grunted and growled. There was sound of them rolling around on the floor. A stool was knocked over. One of them yelped suddenly in pain, then the battle renewed. Straining her sixth sense, Rei tried to get some inkling as to who the mysterious entity was.

"Jupiter?" Rei asked blindly. Logically if it was one of the Senshi, it would have to be Jupiter or maybe Venus. None of the others would last very long in hand-to-hand combat with a Kitsune-yako. But if it was one of them, why not use an attack?

The sound of Reikokuna yelping as she was struck was followed by heavy breathing from the one who had apparently beaten her. Rei listened nervously, wondering what turn her life had taken now. The brush of cloth on the ground told her the mystery entity was approaching.

"Who is it?" Rei demanded. In response, she felt slender hands grasp the blindfold and lift it away from her eyes. Rei looked at her benefactor and her eyes grew wide. It wasn't her, but the resemblance this woman had to her dead mother was almost. . .

Then she remembered the framed photo her mother always kept on the dresser of her bedroom.

"Great-Grandmother?" Rei asked.

Continued in Chapter 7


	7. Family Secrets

THE CONSPIRACY WORE MY FACE  
Chapter 7: Family Secrets  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

The woman looked eighty, the way Rei always remembered her looking. But the last time Rei had seen her great-grandmother was twenty-five years ago. She had to be over a hundred now. And Grandpa had told her when she was ten that her great-grandmother had died.

To top it off, this woman moved with the energy of someone only thirty years old.

"Who are you?" Rei demanded.

"I'm your great-grandmother, Rei-Chan," the woman replied. "Don't you recognize me? It's been a while, I know. . ."

"Another trick?" spat Rei. "Why didn't you just masquerade as Serenity?"

"Hmm," the woman mused. "These handcuffs are resisting my abilities. Do you think you can burn them off?"

"What?" Rei asked.

"If you change to Sailor Mars - - can you burn them off?" As the woman asked, she was scuffing the circle away with her foot. "At least expand the cuffs so you can slip out of them."

"Who are you!" Rei demanded more emphatically.

"Rei-Chan, I know you're suspicious of me. It's good that you are. But I am telling you the truth. Use your second sight. That will tell you what you need to know."

Rei's mouth scrunched up in shame and she looked down.

"Something's blocked it?" gasped the woman. "Oh, Rei-Chan, I didn't know." She finished obliterating the binding circle. "Well whether you trust me or not, we have to get out of here while we can! It's not safe for you here!" The old woman glanced nervously at the unconscious Reikokuna, then at the stairs. "And if he returns, it won't be safe for me, either."

Staring up at her, wishing beyond anything she'd ever wished for that her second sight could work just for that moment, Rei bit her lip.

"Mars Planet Power Make Up," the priest said. In moments she was transformed into Sailor Mars. "Burning Mandala!"

The flaming sacred symbols sprang out from her hands and surrounded the metal shackles around her wrists. The intense heat given off began to deform the metal as it grew orange, then red, then white. Mars' hands and gloves remained unaffected. Finally the metal softened to the point where Mars could pull free. She got to her feet as the molten cuffs dropped to the floor behind her.

"Very good," the old woman nodded. "I know the best way out. Follow me as quietly as you . . ."

While the woman spoke, Mars' hand shot out and captured the waistband of the woman's skirt. She jerked it down and found just what she expected to find: two fox tails.

"I thought so," Mars growled.

"Rei-Chan, please," the woman said, struggling to control her emotions. "I will explain everything. But first we have to get out of here."

She wanted to erupt on this woman in an orgy of violence, for crimes running the gamut from her imprisonment to the attempt on Serenity to this - - Kitsune - - having the nerve to impersonate one of her relatives. But her need to head off the plot and protect Serenity and the others won out over her need for vengeance. Sailor Mars nodded. She and the old woman slunk up the stairs past Reikokuna's unconscious form. The home upstairs was a mixture of modern furnishings with a traditional rural structure. Mars estimated that the home itself probably dated back to before the war, possibly as far back as a hundred years.

Outside the house, Mars found herself in a rural village. There were signs that told her she was still in the twenty-first century: cars, overhead power lines and the highway about a half mile down from the home. But it was hardly the modern city she was used to. The old woman jumped a fence into a field of soybeans and Mars moved to follow. But at the last minute she stopped and turned back.

"I know what you want to do," the old woman said to her. "If Reikokuna wasn't still in there, I'd let you burn it to the ground. It would be a blow against Himura. That house is a base for his sorcery. But you can't take a life like that - - even her life."

"I know," Mars scowled. Then she scaled the fence and followed the Kitsune who looked like her great-grandmother into the concealing green of the soybean patch, bent down to be as close to the plants as possible.

* * *

Endymion was meeting with the government ministers who oversaw transportation and the nation's roads, bridges and rail system. Work was progressing on rebuilding the nation's transportation system after the ravages of the Great Ice Disaster, and in record time. While the ministers were quick to point out that many in the country had rallied around the King and Queen Serenity and worked hard to rebuild the transportation system, they all agreed that the healthy influx of money provided by the King had contributed just as much as the sentiment of community the Royal Family had encouraged.

Now they had to figure out how the funds were going to be replaced in the nation's treasury.

"I'll figure something out," Endymion told them. "Any suggestions will be appreciated. But that's my concern. Your concern is to keep at this until everything is working as well or better than it was."

Everyone nodded.

"And Minister Fuwukuma," he added, looking directly at the stout forty year old. "I want to maintain your audit schedule. Large projects such as this are invitations to fraud and theft, unfortunately, no matter how much collective spirit is voiced by everyone."

"Yes, King Endymion," Minister Fuwukuma nodded. The other ministers deflated almost imperceptibly. On Endymion's right, the phone rang.

"This is King Endymion," he answered.

"Endymion, there's a potential security breach in the palace," Ami stated on the other end of the call. Endymion covered the phone with his hand.

"Gentlemen, something's come up," Endymion told them calmly. "We're going to have to continue this at the next scheduled meeting." Several ministers grumbled. "I apologize, but I'm going to have to ask you all to leave. This is a delicate matter of state."

Everyone got up and reluctantly filed out of the room. When he was alone, Endymion pulled his hand from over the phone.

"What have you learned, Ami?" Endymion asked.

"The woman implicated in the assassination attempt is a shape-shifter," Ami reported. "Evidence points to a mythological Kitsune."

"This is something I'd expect to hear from Rei," Endymion remarked. "What brought you to this conclusion?"

"When Dr. Hiroyuki and I went to perform the post-mortem on the body, we found an acorn in the drawer where the body should have been. According to Japanese writings on the Kitsune, they often use items like twigs or acorns as substitution totems and weave illusions around them. Therefore the actual Kitsune is likely still in the palace, in human form, plotting to make another attempt on either you or Serenity."

"Well I haven't sensed any danger to Serenity, so it hasn't made its move yet," Endymion frowned. "How do we track this thing down?"

"I would normally suggest Rei, but I'm not certain her psychic sight is sufficiently recovered as yet," Ami reasoned. "Perhaps she can advise us on what to do. Without some physical trait to look for, I'm not certain my Senshi computer could even discover the imposter. And that's just assuming she hasn't rendered herself invisible."

"All right. I'll go talk to Rei," Endymion replied. "You get back to the palace as soon as possible. Maybe together we can brainstorm a way of tracking down this creature."

"On my way," Ami said and hung up. Endymion sprang from his desk and out the door.

"That's it," he muttered to himself as he quickly strode down the corridor of the palace toward the shrine. "I am putting a surveillance system in this palace. I don't care what Serenity says." Along the way, he ran into Makoto.

"What's up?" she asked, scurrying to keep up.

"Should you be out of bed?"

"Hey, I know that poison almost killed me," Makoto replied. "But just laying around doing nothing would have REALLY killed me. Don't worry about me. I'm as sore as I ever remember being, but I'm ready to go. So what's going on?"

"The woman who poisoned you is still loose in the palace," Endymion told her.

"I thought she died!" Makoto gasped.

"That's what she wanted us to think."

Endymion stopped at the shrine, gathered himself, and then calmly slid the door open. Venturing inside, with Makoto at his heels, Endymion looked around. The outer room of the shrine was empty. Heading into the interior of the shrine, Endymion slid one door open and looked inside, calling Rei's name as he did so. There was no response and no one in the room. Moving to the second door, Endymion called Rei's name and slid the door open.

"There she is," Makoto said.

Indeed, Rei was kneeling before the roaring fire in her fire pit, softly chanting and oblivious to the outer world. Beads of sweat coated her skin and her face was flushed from the heat. The priest didn't acknowledge them, didn't move from the fire pit.

"She's in pretty deep," Makoto whispered. "Maybe she's got a vision." Endymion moved toward her, but Makoto put a hand on his arm. "I'm not sure we're suppose to disturb her when she's like this."

"This can't wait," Endymion replied. He walked over to Rei and bent down to grip her shoulder and shake her.

Then his hand went through her. The moment that happened, the area erupted in a puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared, there was no fire in the fire pit and a small branch and a leaf lay where Rei had been kneeling.

"Where'd Rei go?" exclaimed Makoto.

"She was never here," Endymion frowned. "That stick and leaf was a totem that a Kitsune built an illusion around." The King raced out of the room, followed by Makoto. "She's masquerading as Rei! She may have been masquerading as Rei all along!"

* * *

The strange pair, an eighty year old woman and a legendary Sailor Senshi, walked along the boundary of the wheat field. The home of Isamu Himura was nearly three quarters of a mile in the distance. Mars had wanted to use her Senshi Communicator to warn the palace, but at the Kitsune's insistence they tried to put some distance between them and Himura first. Also at the Kitsune's advice, they had avoided the main road, not wanting to be spotted by anyone, particularly Isamu Himura. Sailor Mars noticed that the Kitsune was wary of Himura to the point of paranoia. If she wasn't faking it, and she would have to be one of the greatest tricksters of all time to be faking it this well, that meant that Himura was a powerful Tsukimono-suji and she was fearful of falling under his control.

"I suppose it's as good a time as any for that explanation," she said to Mars as they walked. "I am a Kitsune. But I'm Kitsune-zenko."

"A benevolent fox," Mars said. "Then why masquerade as my dead great-grandmother?"

"Rei-Chan, I am your great-grandmother," she replied. Mars glared at her, but the woman took it without flinching. "Listen before you pass judgment. It was 1919. The Taisho Period was a period of great flux, both in Tokyo and in the rural lands. It was the beginning of a transition from the older ways to more modern beliefs."

Her smile was melancholy as she recalled things.

"I had ventured into Tokyo - - in search of food," she continued. "But I was not used to the ways of the city. My time there was harsh at first. Before long, I was thin, hungry, and battered - - I would have died. But a priest took pity on me. He fed me, sheltered me until I could regain my strength. I asked him why, as he was struggling himself. He smiled at me and said that kindness was the means . . ."

"To spiritual enlightenment," Mars whispered. "Kaasan used to tell me that all the time."

The old woman smiled. "Risa learned it from her grandfather. Shinya instilled that lesson in our daughter and in our grandchildren." She paused a moment. "Anyway, I decided to stay with Shinya even after I was healthy. Partly out of selfishness, I confess - - if he was going to feed me, I was certainly going to accept. But I also stayed out of gratitude. And I used my fox magic when I could to help him, without his asking me to do so.

"After he had established his shrine, I would help out during the day in the form of a shrine maiden. I did this so no one would suspect a Kitsune-zenko was about." She considered her next statement. "And after a while, I did it because - - I had grown to care for Shinya, and I hoped he could grow to care for me if I was in human form. It took a long time - - far longer than I wanted, though perhaps I was just being impatient." She smiled at the memory, a warm genuine smile by Mars' estimate. "But one day we became lovers. And not long after we were married."

"A nice story," Mars replied. "Very romantic."

"You still don't believe me."

"Given the reputation foxes have, even Kitsune-zenko," Mars told her, "it's a little difficult."

"But not out of the realm of possibility," the old woman countered. They walked on. "Rei-Chan, how do you think you came by your spiritual abilities?"

Mars stared at her as they walked.

"The child of a union between a human and a Kitsune will always be human, but may be born a human with unique abilities," the old woman continued. "My Ritsuko, your grandmother, had a spiritual presence equal to her father's when she was just thirteen, and it grew to dwarf her father's when she matured. Her children, Risa and Shinga, had a great spiritual presence as well. Risa's was stronger yet. When you were born, both Shinya and I could tell that you were the greatest spiritual presence of us all, perhaps the greatest in the history of Japan. Even diminished as it is now, it's still strong within you. I feel it, Rei-Chan."

The pair continued to walk along the boundary of the wheat field. The Himura house was out of sight now.

"Assuming what you told me is true," Mars began, "why did Grandpa tell me you had died?"

"Do you remember when he told you?" the old woman said, the memory still painful. "My beautiful grandchild Risa had been dead for several years. Ritsuko was already gone. Shinga had gone his own way and - - had no need for his grandmother. Shinya was sick and frail, because he was human and humans don't live as long as Kitsune do. When Shinya finally passed, living in Tokyo was just too painful. So I sent Gon a letter telling him that I was going up into the mountains to die. And I returned to the countryside that I'd left seventy years before."

She glanced at Mars. "I know that left you in the lurch. I just couldn't stay. I did try to follow your life from afar. That's how I found out Himura had captured you."

The pair traveled along in silence for a few steps.

"So tell me about this Tsukimono-suji," Mars asked.

"The Himura Clan were Tsukimono-suji for generations," the old woman related. "They first settled the land we just escaped from during the Meiji Restoration. Danko Himura first bargained with a fox in1868, gaining power and knowledge from a Kitsune in exchange for food and shelter. He used that power to enrich himself and forced one of the local women to marry him. Their daughter became a powerful Tsukimono-suji in her own right and the legacy was passed down from there."

"And this one is the latest in the line?"

The old woman sneered. "Isamu Watanabe married into the Himura Clan. Then when he learned the secrets of the Himuras, he conspired with his two foxes, Reikokuna and Kokatsuna, to murder his wife."

"For power?"

"To cover his tracks," the woman responded. "Isamu had been having an affair with a young girl in the village. Her name was Nansi Shirowada. His wife found out. She used her foxes to arrange for Shirowada-San to have an auto accident. Isamu feared he was next. He'd been planning it anyway, as he no longer wanted her, but wanted her position." She made a face. "Since then he's used his power to seek more power."

"And now he sees the opportunity for power over all of Japan," Mars finished the thought.

The old woman stopped them. She looked around the fields warily, even sniffed at the air.

"We've escaped," she said, glancing around as she spoke. "Call your friends. But be alert."

"I'm still not sure I believe you," Mars said to her as she engaged the Senshi Communicator. "But I'm grateful to you for helping me to escape that situation. After I call the palace, I'd like to talk to you some more."

"Yes, I imagine you have more questions," the old woman - - Mars couldn't help but think of her now as great-grandmother Moriko. "But you have to think about the Queen and the country now. Later, if the gods provide, questions can be answered."

Mars scowled, but knew Moriko was right. She pressed send. Makoto answered the page.

"Makoto, there's a Kitsune-yako loose in the palace! It may be masquerading as me!"

"We know! Endymion and I are on the way to Serenity right now!" Makoto broadcast back.

"Mars, this is Luna!" the black cat broke in. "Where are you?"

"I don't know!"

"Artemis, bring the communicator's GPS tracking on line!" Luna shouted to someone out of the picture. "We'll send someone for you, Mars. Please stay at your current location."

"I'll try," Mars said and glanced at Moriko. The woman returned the glance with a worried look, then looked anxiously around.

* * *

Queen Serenity gazed out the window of the Royal Chambers and out over the city of Tokyo, specifically a residential section beyond the ground of what used to be Juuban Park. The buildings that survived the ice were a stark contrast to the eggshell dwellings that often sat on either side. But though the Queen looked at the dwellings, she wasn't thinking of them. Behind her, the door slid open.

"Usagi-Mama?" Setsuko ventured. The Queen turned around and immediately lit up upon seeing the dark-haired, soulful-eyed child. "Are you all right?"

"I am now, Setsuko-Chan," she replied. The Queen knelt down and spread her arms. Setsuko took the invitation and ran over, allowing herself to be scooped up by the Queen. "I'm sorry. All of the commotion in the palace has made me forget all about the special day that's coming up."

"Is that what you're worrying about?" Setsuko asked.

"No, I was worrying about Mako-Chan," Serenity replied, "and about why someone would try to hurt someone else."

The child clung to Queen Serenity. It had to be now. She and Serenity were alone in the room. She could stab her, strangle her, rip the Queen's throat out with her teeth if it came down to it. But it had to be now.

Her Master, Isamu Himura, had ordered it.

Continued in Chapter 8


	8. Plans For Counterattack

THE CONSPIRACY WORE MY FACE  
Chapter 8: Plans For Counterattack  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

"Artemis?" Luna asked in that way she had that sounded like a demand for immediate results. "How difficult can it be to trace a communicator signal? Sailor Mars is waiting."

"Got it!" Artemis exclaimed. "What's she doing way out there?"

"I'm dispatching a detachment of Self-Defense Forces to that location to pick her up," Luna replied, tapping on her computer console with her paws.

"Kind of overkill, isn't it?" Artemis remarked.

"We have no idea what peril she may be in at the moment. Better to err on the side of caution." She glanced at the white cat. "I caught the last of Mars' transmission to Makoto. You'd best rouse Minako and get her to Her Majesty's side."

Artemis was out the door and down the hall in an instant. He burst into Minako's quarters and found the woman on the computer. But instead of fashion or entertainment news, he found her researching the name Nansi Shirowada.

"I don't know how you do it, Artemis," Minako said upon hearing the cat enter. "All I get are brief newspaper bits about this woman dying in a car accident."

"Never mind that now! You need to get up to Serenity! That assassin is still on the loose!" Artemis demanded.

"I watched her jump myself, Cat!" Minako protested. "If you don't believe me, ask Rei!"

"Rei's east of Tomisato in the middle of nowhere!" Artemis howled. "We've got a fox spirit in the palace masquerading as Rei!"

"Damn!" spat Minako, lunging out of her chair and barreling through the door, Artemis on her heels. "Damn, damn, damn, damn and DAMN!" Her henshin stick appeared in her hand as she ran.

* * *

Setsuko clung to Queen Serenity. But it wasn't really Setsuko. Her name was Kokatsuna and she had lived for one hundred and forty-seven human years. She had done many things over those years to please the Tsukimono-suji who held sway over her life. This time her mission was to kill the elected King and Queen of Japan and clear the way for her current master, Isamu Himura.

As the Queen held her in her arms, the fox in child form realized it had to be now. She and Serenity were alone in the room. There might not be a better chance. She could stab her, strangle her, rip the Queen's throat out with her teeth if it came down to it. But it had to be now.

"Who are you?" she heard the Queen ask gently and the fox's blood ran cold.

"What do you mean, Usagi-Mama?" Kokatsuna asked as Setsuko.

Serenity responded by setting the child down and kneeling before her. There was a kindness, a gentleness to the woman that Kokatsuna could never recall experiencing, but a sadness as well.

"You're not Setsuko. I can sense it," Serenity said softly. "Why are you doing this? Have I offended you in some way?"

Right then Kokatsuna knew she was blown. Her response was to transform into her Kitsune-yako form and lunge at the Queen's throat, teeth bared. But Serenity held up a hand and the fox hit an invisible barrier. The force of her impact repelled back onto her and she staggered back from the Queen.

"Please, there's no need for that," Serenity said. "Just tell me why you want to kill me and we'll try to resolve it."

The fox crouched, her two tails switching behind her. The advantage was gone now. The best thing for her to do was flee and try again. The rust-colored animal's eyes darted back and forth, looking for an avenue of escape. Then the door to the chamber slid open, revealing Endymion and Sailor Jupiter. In a flash, the fox darted between the legs of the two and out into the hall.

"Hey!" Jupiter exclaimed and pivoted, taking off after the fleeing fox. Endymion, though, ran straight for his wife. He seized her in a bear hug and crushed her to him.

"Are you all right?" he asked desperately.

"Yes. She tried, but . . ." the Queen began. Then her eyes widened. "Setsuko!"

Tearing out of Endymion's grip, Serenity flew to the bedroom that Setsuko called her own. Endymion followed and found his wife kneeling at the side of the child's bed, staring in relief as little Setsuko slept peacefully.

Jupiter sped down the corridor of the palace in pursuit of the two-tailed fox. But the fox had a head start and four legs to her two. She disappeared down a junction just as Jupiter entered the corridor and the senshi feared the intruder had escaped. But moments later the fox reappeared in the junction, leaping desperately to avoid a chain of heart-shaped golden links. The fox twisted in mid-air, landed and sped off in the opposite direction of the junction corridor. As Jupiter changed direction and continued down the path she'd been on, hoping to cut the escaping fox off, she spotted Sailor Venus in pursuit.

Speeding down the corridor, Jupiter hit the corridor that ringed the outer walls of the palace. The fox was racing toward her. It skidded to a stop on the slick marble floors of the palace, trying to stop on a dime and change direction and failing miserably.

"Jupiter! Oak Evolution!" Jupiter called out. She wanted to subdue the creature. Actually, deep down, she wanted to wring its little neck, but knew that Serenity would object. Electricity began to explode around the fox, biting and buffeting the animal. Oblivious to the pain, the fox turned tails and ran back where it had come from. Jupiter ran after her quarry. If the fox didn't want to surrender now, she'd just see how it liked a lightning bolt.

The fox turned the corner. Seconds later Jupiter reached the same corner and sped around in blind pursuit - - and collided with Sailor Venus. The impact sent both senshi sprawling.

"Oww," Jupiter groaned, sprawled on her bottom on the marble floor. She put her hand to her head. "Blondie!"

"Like getting hit by the Bullet Train," muttered Venus, sitting on her side and rubbing her knee. "It's a good thing you're taller than me. At least my face hit a big soft cushion."

"Can the smutty remarks, Blondie! Did you see which way the fox went?"

Venus narrowed her eyes as she looked at Jupiter. "How do I know you're really Jupiter?"

"How do I know you're really Venus?" Jupiter asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"A fox? Look like this?" Venus huffed, pointing to her face. "There's got to be things even fox magic can't copy!"

"So where did it go, genius?" Jupiter posed.

"I don't know," Venus scowled. "Maybe we were chasing an illusion the whole time. I mean, that whatever it is got me pretty good last time." Venus began to pull herself to her feet. "How's Serenity?"

"OK," Jupiter responded, gaining her feet as well. "But we've got to get this thing! If it can look like anybody, then nobody's safe!" She headed back for the Royal Chambers. Venus followed. "Maybe Ames can think of some way to track it."

When they were gone, Kokatsuna became visible next to the planter she had been wedged against. The fox breathed a sigh of relief. But her relief was short. It was bad enough that Queen Serenity could sense her fox self even in human form. If this "Ames" human could develop a means to track her even while disguised or invisible, her mission would be that much more difficult.

But Kokatsuna remained resolute. Her Master trusted her with this mission and she had no choice but to obey.

* * *

"Master!" Reikokuna shouted as she burst into the main room of the house. "Master, are you here?"

The fox, in human form, found Himura sitting in a chair, his eyes closed and his face blank. He was communicating with her fellow Kitsune-yako. Respectfully, despite the urgency of her news, Reikokuna stood silently and waited for her master to finish.

Reikokuna's human form was very striking. Long black hair, porcelain white skin, a lean, lithe, athletic figure, striking green eyes and a playful full mouth; it was a highly attractive form, one Reikokuna chose intentionally. She had belonged to Himura's wife and to her mother before her. She had been loyal. All of that changed when Isamu Himura married into the family. Reikokuna had been smitten with the handsome Himura from the start, but did not act on her feelings out of respect for her former Tsukimono-suji. Later, when she learned of Himura's affair, the fox was disappointed and just a bit jealous. But when Himura murdered his wife, with Reikokuna's willing, almost gleeful help, Reikokuna saw this as her chance. She came to him one night in this human form. And she discovered that it was very pleasing to him.

"Reikokuna," Himura said upon coming out of his trance. "Kokatsuna has failed once more."

"There is worse news, Master!" she told him. "The priest has escaped! And she was aided by Kokininomo!"

"You're certain it was her?" Himura asked. Reikokuna nodded. "I was considering altering my plans. This makes it even more necessary. Kokatsuna can't succeed on her own. We must go to Tokyo and make the plan work."

"Master," Reikokuna began, clutching him by his upper arms and leaning her body into his as she looked up at him, "can we not abandon this effort? Stay here, where it's safe? Please, Master. You don't need to chase this dream of yours! I can make you happy! I can make you forget your lust for power and title! I can be anything you want, give you anything you want! If you pursue this, I fear for you! I fear for us!"

Himura smiled and stroked the side of her face and Reikokuna felt joy.

"Your loyalty and devotion are a great comfort to me," he said. "But the one thing I want above all else is the one thing you can't give me - - unless you act as I tell you. Think about it, Reikokuna: All of Japan in my palm AND you and Kokatsuna by my side. And perhaps the traitorous Kokininomo as well. What more could a man ask for? Do not fear or doubt, Reikokuna. We will win this day yet."

And he bent in and kissed her. And Reikokuna felt her doubts melting away.

* * *

"That's a Self-Defense Force truck," Sailor Mars remarked.

Approaching their area from far down the two lane paved road was a Self-Defense Force troop truck. Luna had said she was sending a vehicle to pick Mars up, but the senshi was expecting Ami in her Toyota mid-size. For a moment she thought to go to the road and meet the truck. Then her suspicions kicked in. She was dealing with a Tsukimono-suji in control of at least two Kitsune-yako. How did she know it wasn't an elaborate illusion set up to recapture her? The thought of being imprisoned again in that dark, cool cellar made her heart beat faster and her hands grow cold.

"Do you doubt that it's real?" the Kitsune who looked like her great-grandmother Moriko asked.

"Yes," Mars replied and heard her voice tremble.

"You are a priest, Rei-Chan," Moriko told her. "No fox magic can fool the spiritual eye of a priest, certainly not one as powerful as you."

Mars swallowed and then looked at the truck. But try as she might, no impression came to her. She couldn't even detect the spirit auras of the men in the truck. It wasn't that she saw it was an illusion. She couldn't "see" anything.

"I can't do it," Mars said, audibly disappointed in herself. "I'm still fallen. I'm still afraid."

"Rei-Chan," Moriko spoke up. "Fear is not a bad thing. Fear is just the instinct to survive. As an animal, I'm well acquainted with it. I've experienced it all my life. Fear is a necessary part of life." She considered her next words. "Perhaps the difference between humans and animals is that humans dwell on what they fear. If something makes me afraid, I escape or I fight. Once the thing that made me afraid is gone, I go on with life. I don't dwell on it. In that way, my fear is a tool which helps me to survive, not a poison that consumes me from within."

Mars considered the words. Then she set her jaw and started walking for the road in order to meet the truck.

"Were you able to use your divine ability?" Moriko asked, following after her.

"No," Mars replied. "I'm taking a calculated risk. It could be an illusion - - but being afraid of something is one thing and being afraid of the possibility of something is another. Maybe it's time I stopped being afraid of possibilities and have faith in my abilities."

"True," Moriko smiled. "For what is a priest without faith?"

Mars stood on the berm as the truck rolled to a halt. A Self-Defense Force Lieutenant got out of the truck and walked up to her.

"Sailor Mars, ma'am," the Lieutenant nodded. "I've been instructed to escort you back to Tokyo and to give you any assistance you require."

Mars smiled, for her sight briefly winked on and she was able to read his spirit aura and know he was human.

"Thank you, Lieutenant. As fast as you can go," Mars said. She turned to Moriko. "I think you should come with me."

"Do you finally believe me?" Moriko asked.

"Not yet," Mars said. "But I do believe one thing: that you're worried about coming in contact with Himura again. Maybe it would be safer for you, and maybe everyone, if you came to the palace."

"I have no love for the city," Moriko stated. "But I accept."

Together they climbed into the back of the troop truck. To the soldiers in the back, they were a strange sight: a famous sailor senshi and an old woman who moved like someone half her age. Not that they minded - - enduring a trip back to Tokyo would be a little more pleasant in the company of Sailor Mars.

* * *

Endymion, Serenity and the cats were assembled in a meeting room in the palace with all of the senshi minus Mars. The discussion was the on-going problem.

"Before we get started," Venus interjected, "how do we know everyone here is who they say they are? I mean, these foxes can become exact duplicates of anyone they want, right?"

"Fortunately Serenity can sense when this Kitsune is trying to mimic someone by touching them," Endymion answered. "It tried mimicking Setsuko earlier and failed."

"So that's why you were all 'touchy-feely' earlier," nodded Venus. "So how do we know she's Serenity?"

"I can tell," Endymion replied. Serenity blew him a kiss.

"OK, so what if she's masquerading as one of the security staff or a maintenance worker?" Jupiter ventured. "Serenity can't watch everybody. At least I think she can't. Can you?"

"I thought of that," Endymion began. "I've been in contact with the Akaruimirai Corporation and they have a device that can be installed under the skin of a person that will emit an electronic signal to a handheld receiver. This will allow us to identify all real humans in the palace." He frowned. "The one problem is how to identify whether someone is an actual human when the chip is implanted."

"The one problem?" Venus reacted. "I'm not too crazy about someone being able to track my every move."

"I share your concerns," Mercury nodded. "That's why I insisted the chip be manufactured so that it will bio-degrade into harmless component parts after a week. As to identification at implantation, I've been consulting with Rei over the communicator. She tells me that a Kitsune-yako is vulnerable to dogs. A dog's heightened sense of smell can penetrate an illusion. Plus Kitsune-yako are deathly afraid of them."

"A point I share with them," Luna scowled. "Is there no other way than to allow some great slobbering beast to run rampant through the palace?'

"It may be the only way to hunt this thing down and neutralize it," Endymion said.

"Suppose it turns itself into one of the dogs?" Jupiter asked.

"According to Rei, Kitsune-yako are only able to transform themselves into humans or inanimate objects," Mercury informed them. "They do not possess the ability to mimic animal forms."

"Hey, no chips for us!" Artemis smiled.

"Lucky," scowled Venus.

"Any other concerns?" Endymion asked. There was no response. "All right, because of this, the palace is on lock down. All contractor work is suspended. All tours and visitations by the public are canceled. It's bad enough we have to implant chips in all the staff and residents. We can't implant chips in every citizen of Tokyo. And nobody leaves the building until they've been implanted." He leaned in for emphasis. "We have to run this Kitsune-yako to ground, and the sooner the better. I imagine the task will be easier when Mars gets back, but if we can get it sooner, even better. Luna and Artemis, please stay with Serenity at all times and sound the alert at the slightest evidence of another attempt."

"Um, how about Luna stays with me and Artemis stays with you," Serenity interjected. "After all, she's after you, too. I don't want you left vulnerable just because everyone is busy protecting me."

Endymion nodded. "As you wish, Dear. The chips should be arriving tomorrow morning. Until then, everyone be on your guard."

"And don't accept a situation at face value," Mercury added. "Kitsune-yako are master illusionists, according to Rei, and can make you think you see something that isn't there."

"No joke," muttered Venus.

The meeting adjourned and everyone filed out of the office, past a potted plant sitting next to the door in the outer corridor. When they were all out of sight, one of the wooden stakes holding the stalk of the plant began to change and enlarge. In moments, a security guard emerged from the pot. The guard turned and headed for the first floor main gate.

For if they were going to bring dogs into the palace, Kokatsuna decided that it was time to evacuate and regroup.

Continued in Chapter 9


	9. Fox In The Henhouse

THE CONSPIRACY WORE MY FACE  
Chapter 9: Fox In The Henhouse  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

A military truck with the Japanese Self-Defense Force roared through the streets of evening Tokyo. Heads turned as the vehicle passed and people wondered what could have brought out the Japanese military into the streets of Tokyo. Was there another emergency? Did it have anything to do with the sketchy news reports about another attempt on the lives of the Royal Family? Ever since the Ice Disaster and the subsequent installation of Sailor Moon as queen, it seemed like there was an emergency every other week. Part of the population had begun to wonder if installing Sailor Moon as queen had brought the instability on. The rest felt that the instability would have come regardless, so it was good that Sailor Moon was in charge.

One very attractive young woman continued walking, heedless of the truck. She was a woman with short but stylish black hair, an angular face with striking dark eyes, and a generous figure draped in a loose yellow dress. She walked along the streets of Minato-Ku with a purpose and a destination and she didn't let what was going on around her distract her from that purpose.

As she passed a well-to-do young woman carrying a small Pekinese in her arms like it was her infant child, the dog suddenly snapped at her. The woman in the yellow dress reacted, backing away quickly and making no effort to hide her fear as the dog began barking at her.

"It's all right. She won't bite you," the woman with the Pekinese said, then turned the dog to her. "Isn't that right, Cutie-Wootie?" she said and began blowing kisses at it. The dog wouldn't take its eyes off of the other woman and continued to bark.

Giving it and its owner a wide berth, the woman in yellow hurried off.

Arriving at a hotel near the Crystal Palace, the woman entered. She by-passed the front desk and headed straight for an elevator. Arriving on the fifth floor, the woman exited and headed straight for room 504. She knocked and moments later was allowed entry by another strikingly beautiful woman with long black hair.

"Kokatsuna," Isamu Himura said. He was laying on the hotel room bed. "Why did you leave the palace?"

"It was no longer safe for me, Master," the woman in yellow told him. "King Endymion is bringing in dogs to hunt for me. And he plans to use electronic devices to identify who is a human. I could not remain in the palace. I would have been discovered." She looked down. "He has won this round."

"Dogs," the other woman, Reikokuna, scowled and shivered.

"Perhaps you're right," Himura nodded thoughtfully. "Our initial plan was to kill the King and Queen and replace them with both of you, so I might rule the nation through you. But that plan will have to be changed."

"Master," Reikokuna began supplicantly, "perhaps this is a warning from the gods. Perhaps they are saying this day is not yours to succeed." She curled up next to Himura. "Come home. Forget this quest for now. If you do not force the hunt now, your time will come again. And I can make you happy in the mean time."

"The gods do not concern themselves with my efforts," Himura replied. "And fate only rewards the bold. The time to succeed is now."

"But Master," Kokatsuna said. "The palace is on guard against us now. We can't infiltrate it again!"

"And your heritage is that of a legendary trickster," Himura said confidently. "The basic plan remains unchanged. But if we can't get to the King and Queen, we'll have to make the King and Queen come to us. Then we can substitute you and Reikokuna as we substituted you for the priest earlier."

Kokatsuna seemed resigned. "Command me, Master," she said.

"The King's weakness has always been the Queen," Himura began. "And the Queen's weakness has always been her generous heart."

* * *

The guards at the palace gate were about to notify the Royal Family and the Senshi of the arrival of a Self-Defense Forces truck. But the Queen arrived almost at the same time the truck did and her Senshi were close on her heels, so there wasn't any need. Sailor Mars was no sooner off the truck then Serenity had her in a bear hug.

"Oh, Mars, what happened?" cried the Queen. "Did they hurt you?"

"I'm in one piece, Serenity," Mars whispered, returning the hug. Then, remembering that her sight always worked when she was in contact with Serenity, the senshi stole a glance at Moriko as she disembarked. She was amazed by what she saw.

"Oh!" Serenity gasped, seeing Moriko. "Who is this?"

"Serenity, this is my Great-Grandmother Moriko," Mars said.

"Wow!" commented Makoto. "I should look that good when I'm that old."

"I plan to," quipped Minako.

Instantly Serenity had the older woman in her arms.

"Oh, Oba-San, I am SO glad to meet you!" squealed Serenity. "I always want to meet members of Rei's. . ." Then Serenity pulled back. Her mouth was open and she stared at Moriko in incredulity. "M-Mars, she's . . ."

"I know," Mars said softly, gripping Serenity's lower arm. "I'll explain it later." Serenity nodded mechanically. "Mercury told me about your plan. I think it's a good plan." She exhaled in fatigue. "If it's OK with all of you, I'm going to head to bed. It's been a long ordeal and I'm kind of tired."

"Certainly, Mars," Ami said, once again seeing more than she was letting on. "And it's good to have you back."

"Good to be back, Ami," Mars replied. Taking Moriko's hand, she headed into the palace and up to the second floor.

"What was that all about?" Makoto wondered aloud. "Serenity?"

"She'll tell us when she's ready," Serenity said. "Let's all try to get some sleep."

As Mars and Moriko ascended the stairs, Mars let her transformation fade back to Rei.

"So that's Queen Serenity? She's even more impressive in person," Moriko commented. "She sensed what I am, didn't she?"

"Yeah," Rei said.

"Will that be a problem for you?"

"I'm more concerned with whether it will be a problem for you," Rei stated, "Oba-San."

Moriko stopped just before the top step. "You believe me now?"

"Physical contact with Serenity unblocks my sight," Rei explained. "I could see you were my great-grandmother."

"You seem disturbed by the news," Moriko observed.

"It's a bit of a shock, don't you think?" Rei replied. "Part of my spiritual powers are because I have Kitsune blood in my veins - - Kitsune DNA in my cells." Rei took a moment to compose herself. "Did Kaasan know?"

"That she was the granddaughter of a Kitsune?" Moriko responded. "Maybe. Shinya and I didn't tell her, just like we didn't tell Ritsuko. But your mother had insight. So did Ritsuko. So did Gon. One of them may have seen something - - or just figured it out."

Rei nodded thoughtfully. Moriko studied her.

"What else troubles you?" she asked the priest.

"I saw something else," Rei admitted. "You didn't return to Tomisato just because of the bad memories in Tokyo. You were searching for your star ball."

Moriko reacted like Rei had seen something personal. "Yes," the old woman said finally.

"Who has it?" Rei asked, an eyebrow raised.

"In 1919? The great-grandmother of Isamu Himura's wife." Moriko scowled. "Rather than be controlled by her, I fled to Tokyo, hoping to lose myself in the city. It was at the end of that journey that I encountered Shinya."

"So who has it now? Himura?"

"That is my greatest fear," Moriko responded, tight-lipped. "I fled in 1919 because Kokoya Himura was a vain, petty sorceress in love with the power she could have over simple farmers and peasants. But she was a flea bite on the backside of a dog compared to Isamu." She looked up at Rei. "You don't know how much pride and joy I felt when I learned you were Sailor Mars and that you were one of the ones who fought so bravely to save us all. So when I learned he had you, I had to risk falling under his control to rescue you. You're my family. You're the only living connection left to. . . to Shinya." She looked down again. "But if he learns I'm here, he might try to use me against you. If you want me to go, I'll understand. We can reconnect after you defeat him."

"It must have taken a lot for you to run rather than be used for evil," Rei remarked. "If this Kokoya Himura had destroyed your star ball . . ."

"It could still happen," Moriko murmured. Then she grinned at Rei. "As for the courage to run, it wasn't born of nobility. Foiling her plans was my revenge against her for stealing my star ball."

"Then I'm not worried about Isamu Himura using you against us," Rei told her. "I'd like you to stay. Let me arrange one of the guest quarters for you, Oba-san."

A sentimental smile broke out on Moriko's face.

* * *

"Speculation continues to run rampant among the population of Tokyo and all of Japan concerning the intrigue at the Crystal Palace," the newscaster reported on the eleven p.m. TV Asahi news program. "Rumors persist that a nationwide conspiracy to topple the monarchy is ongoing and that this assassination attempt is just the latest round. Repeated denials by Palace press contacts that the attempt is linked to the inaugural day attempt have not ended this speculation."

"Are they linked?" Hayami turned and asked his wife Ami. She was researching Kitsune from a database posted on the web.

"According to Rei, these attempts are the work of two separate groups," Ami paused her search and said. "She mentioned a Tsukimono-suji and my research into them tells me that they control these Kitsune-entities and historically have been known to use them for nefarious purposes."

"Like toppling governments?"

"There's no recorded incident of a Kitsune being used against a sitting Emperor or Shogun," Ami replied, "though I suppose the possibility exists. Just like the possibility exists that the mysterious partner for the attempt by the Morobishi Clan may also be a silent partner to this Tsukimono-suji."

"Politics," sighed Hayami. "So what else is bothering you?"

Ami glanced at him. "You're gaining more intuitive insight into my moods and mannerisms," she smirked. "I'm going to have to watch myself or you'll know all my secrets." She sighed. "Rei's great-grandmother."

"What about her?"

"Rei is thirty-five," Ami began. "Assuming an average generational gap between births, Rei's great-grandmother would have to be over one hundred years old. Yet she barely looks seventy and she moves like she's twenty-five. Medically this is statistically unlikely, almost statistically impossible. Then there was Serenity's reaction. She sensed something about this woman. There's something to this woman that we don't know about," and Ami considered her next words, "possibly that Rei doesn't know about either."

"Like one of these Kitsune things?" Hayami asked. "They're powerful enough to fool a priest like Rei?"

"Normally, no. From what I've read, a priest can see through the illusions cast by a Kitsune by virtue of the priest's faith. But Rei is undergoing a spiritual crisis, a crisis of faith. And that impaired ability may be enough to leave her vulnerable."

"Sailor Moon has always handled crises in the past," Dietwoman Momohara said in an interview on the television news program. "Crises that threatened the very foundations of our lives. Queen Serenity and her senshi and her government will handle whatever is happening now. All we have to have as a people is a little faith."

* * *

Rei found Derek sitting on the balcony that had the view of Tokyo Bay in the distance. He was just staring out at the distant sea side, oblivious to her presence. This hurt. Hadn't he gotten word that she was back? Or didn't he care?

"Derek," she said as she touched his shoulder. Derek flinched and stared up at her anxiously, suspiciously, the way she did when she caught a reflection of herself when she was thinking of her time with the Frost People.

"Is it really you?" Derek asked suspiciously. And Rei knew that she wasn't the only casualty of Isamu Himura's plot against the crown.

"Derek," she began, reaching for him. But the man sprang up out of the sofa he'd been sitting on, keeping distance between them. "Derek, it's me," Rei said, emotion coloring her voice to her embarrassment. "I got away. Didn't they tell you?"

"Ami told me," Derek replied, ashamed of being wary and suspicious, but feeling wary and suspicious just the same. "Told me everything. Told me how these - - these fox things were trying to kill Serenity and Endymion and take over. Told me how they grabbed you," and Derek stopped, struggling to keep control, "and put a double in your place! H-How it was . . .!"

And he couldn't go on. Derek, big and powerful and used to being in control from his years being a champion athlete, struggled and fought to continue speaking. But the words just wouldn't form. And the longer it took, the more consumed he became with a helplessness he just wasn't accustomed to feeling.

And the angrier Rei got, because she needed him. She needed him to be strong for her, to feel his arms around her, to nestle against that strong masculine body and feel safe and secure again. And Rei Hino never simmered for very long.

"GET A GRIP!" Rei snapped. "She fooled everyone! Kitsune do that!"

"Don't you understand?" Derek shot back. "I know she fooled everyone! But everyone didn't sleep with her! I slept WITH AN ANIMAL!"

His adamance surprised Rei for a moment. Then she realized he was American, and they didn't understand Kitsune the way the Japanese did. It mollified some of her anger.

"Derek," Rei said with a stab at conciliation, "when a Kitsune takes human form, they're human. It's not an illusion, or a disguise. Her spirit may have been that of a fox, but her body was human. So whatever western ethical or moral code you think has been violated, it hasn't."

"But she's really a fox," Derek struggled to comprehend.

"Look, Derek, I don't know enough about Christian legends and themes to be able to translate this into something you'd understand," Rei persisted. "But I am an expert on Japanese lore. A Kitsune that has taken on human form is human, with all the strengths and all the weaknesses, and all the parts we humans have. Please believe me, Derek. I'm not lying to you to spare your feelings. You know me better than that. Whatever you think you've done, you didn't."

She could see he was still struggling with the concept.

"You're sure?" he whispered.

"Derek . . .!" she sighed.

"Ok, ok," he said, waving her temper storm off. "Kind of threw me, you know? And here I should have been worried about you."

"Yes, you should have," Rei replied peevishly.

"Was it bad?"

Rei expelled a shuddering breath. "It was Knorr all over again."

Silence.

"Maybe you should quit," Derek suggested without looking at her.

"I can't quit," Rei argued. "I have obligations."

"Maybe its me being an American again," Derek said softly, "but if you're doing something that's detrimental to your health or happiness, you ought to do it because you want to, not because you have to."

Without a word, Rei got up and walked back into the palace. Derek let her go.

* * *

It was the morning rush hour in Tokyo. Commuters were hurrying to their jobs, seeking to resume their positions as cogs in the Japanese economic machine. Anxiety was still high over the rumors and speculation of a conspiracy against the government of Sailor Moon, but they all dutifully put those anxieties aside to fulfill their part in the country's economy. After months of digging out from the rubble caused by the ice, things were looking up.

Then the ground shook. Everyone stopped. Had it been a minor earthquake? Such things were far from uncommon on the island. But memories of Tohoku were still fresh in everyone's mind. The people looked around warily, waiting for more.

Another tremor. But this wasn't an earthquake. The shaking wasn't sustained like an earthquake would sustain. This was like - - and memories of another disaster, one on the heels of Tohoku came flooding back.

"LOOK!" shrieked a woman, pointing up into the sky.

Everyone looked and gasped. Towering over a ten story building was an ice giant, just like the ones that had frozen the city, the country and the world for two years.

"THEY'RE BACK!" cried a man.

"RUN!" shouted another man.

The rush hour population scattered in all directions in a blind panic, desperate to escape the horror from many of their nightmares. The ground shook again as the ice giant took another step. Already there were people on the street frozen in pillars of ice, their faces still wearing the horrified looks they had taken. People ran, oblivious to everyone around them, their only thought being escape.

Continued in Chapter 10


	10. Panic In The Streets

THE CONSPIRACY WORE MY FACE  
Chapter 10: Panic In The Streets  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

One of the things Artemis did was monitor the police bands, the radio and television broadcasts and the news wires through his computer. Every call or story that contained a key word he'd set was flagged and relayed to him. From there, he would decide if the item warranted the attention of the senshi.

When his computer flagged a series of police calls and a news wire bulletin in rapid succession, he read the transcripts with some trepidation. When he finished, he knew that trepidation was well warranted.

"MINA!" the cat shouted as he whizzed passed Minako's occupied bed, his tail straight in the air. "GET UP!" The white cat was out the door without waiting for an answer.

"It better be noon or you're a dead feline," Minako muttered from under the sheet draped over her head. Moments later her senshi communicator alert went off, snapping Minako out of her drowsy state and into full attention.

Quickly she arrived at the central meeting room where the senshi met in the palace. Mercury and Jupiter were already there, consulting with Luna and Artemis. Mercury had her computer out.

"What's up?" Venus asked. Jupiter turned to her.

"The ice giants are back," Jupiter reported, an undercurrent of anxiety in her voice. "It's all over the police bands."

"How? I thought Serenity stomped those guys!" Venus gasped.

"I don't know how," Mercury responded as she continued on her computer. "There's no indication that a dimensional portal has opened. Unless they somehow came through the Door of Time . . ."

"They didn't," Endymion stated flatly. He and Serenity swept into the room. "When I found out from Luna what the alert was, it was the first thing Serenity and I checked. Sailor Pluto is fine and the door is intact."

"Can't we worry about how they got here later?" Artemis spoke up. "According to the reports I'm monitoring, the business district is in a state of chaos and panic!"

"Yeah, we have to do something!" Jupiter concurred. "If it's just one, we can gang up on it and take it out!"

"I've hooked into the global satellite imaging system," Mercury interjected. "I see the panicked people, but I can't see what they're running from."

"We need to get down there, now!" Mars said adamantly. Everyone looked and found her poised at the door. "But Serenity and Endymion need to stay here. That's essential!"

"Mars, do you know what it is?" Serenity asked hopefully.

"Maybe," Mars answered. "And if I'm right, exposing the two of you to it would be extremely dangerous." The senshi turned and bolted out the door, yelling, "Come on!"

The other senshi ran after her. Serenity and Endymion remained behind, with Luna, looking anxiously at each other. Artemis continued to monitor reports.

The senshi got within a half mile of the epicenter of the reports before snarled traffic halted their progress and forced them to go on foot. Even that was tough going, for they were running against the flow of panicked citizens fleeing the business district.

"And I used to laugh when I saw scenes like this in those Godzilla movies I used to watch!" Venus quipped.

Finally shoving their way through the fleeing crowds, Jupiter at the point of their wedge, the senshi entered an intersection between abandoned cars. Down the street it stood. A giant ice humanoid thirty-five feet high, standing in the middle of the street. Behind it, buildings and cars and people were frozen solid. It was a horrifying reminder of what had happened two years ago for Mars and mere months ago in conscious time for the rest. Mercury clicked on her visor.

"These readings make no sense!" she gasped.

"It's not there?" Venus asked hopefully. "Because my eyes say different!"

"Something is there!" Mercury responded, furiously pecking on her computer. "But the temperature inversion - - the gravity/mass ratios - - electromagnetic radiation is all wrong!"

"'Something is there' is all I need to know," Jupiter grunted, stepping forward. "Supreme Thunder!"

Her lightning launched from her and covered the distance between her and the ice giant in an eye blink. Electricity contacted with frozen water and loudly popped and spat. The ice giant staggered back a step, crushing a car underfoot.

But the monster stayed on his feet. Locating the source of the attack, it brought up a gigantic hand to freeze its attacker.

* * *

From concealment, Reikokuna sat with her head between her front legs and concentrated. Her human form was gone, for all of her concentration was needed to maintain the illusion of the ice giant. The fox's two tails twitched and darted behind her in a nervous random pattern.

Behind her, watching the people of the business district react to Reikokuna's massive illusion were Isamu Himura and Kokatsuna. Himura observed the chaos outside in the streets with patient pleasure. Everything so far was going according to plan. Kokatsuna, though, watched the situation anxiously. She knew that Reikokuna was extending herself to the fox's limit to make and maintain this illusion. And she feared that the illusion wouldn't be able to stand up to Queen Serenity. Kokatsuna had met Queen Serenity and no mere Kitsune could hope to oppose her.

"Master," Kokatsuna began, the fox in the form of a remarkably beautiful, mature woman with short black hair, "what if she doesn't come?"

"She will come," Himura replied confidently. "Queen Serenity is legendary for being unable to stand the suffering of others."

"But if she doesn't?"

"Then we will try something else," Himura said. He pulled a star ball from his pocket. Kokatsuna's eyes darted to it, the fox fearing for a moment that it was hers. It wasn't. So it had to be Kokininomo's, since Reikokuna served Himura willingly.

Just so - - better Kokininomo fail against Queen Serenity than for her to fail against Queen Serenity.

"Master!" Kokatsuna gasped. "They're here!"

Himura looked out from his place of concealment and saw the four Inner Senshi standing at the intersection down the street.

"The King and Queen are not with them!" Kokatsuna cried.

Jupiter fired a bolt of lightning. It struck the illusionary ice giant, eliciting a hiss of pain from Reikokuna.

"Master?" Kokatsuna pressed him.

"Very well," Himura replied, bringing the star ball to his forehead. "Kokininomo, it is time to fulfill the pact you made with Kokoyo Himura over a hundred years ago - - the master you betrayed and the pact you ran from. Acknowledge me, Kokininomo. Acknowledge the one who possesses your star ball."

Reikokuna winced again as Venus's Love and Beauty Shock attack echoed through the city street.

"Acknowledge your master, Kokininomo," Himura continued.

And in the Crystal Palace, Moriko's eyes snapped open.

* * *

"Venus!" Venus shouted, her right hand at her side with the fingers splayed. "Love and Beauty Shock!"

The ball of golden energy shot down the street and impacted with the ice giant. The force of the explosion shook the windows on buildings on either side of the monster, but only staggered the ice creature. Again it raised its hand to freeze them.

"Mercury!" Mercury shouted urgently. "Aqua Rhapsody!"

From nowhere, a wave of water engulfed the ice monster, surrounding it up to the chest. Then it flash froze into a chunk of ice. The monster strained at the ice, trying to free itself or at least its arm. For a time the ice held. But soon fissures began to form along the sides of the brittle ice. Everyone saw them.

"Mars, I think now would be a really good time for a little fire," Venus said, turning to her fellow senshi. She found Mars deep in concentration, a sacred ward pressed to her forehead. "Hey, Mars, want to get into the game!"

"QUIET!" Mars snapped and resumed silently chanting. Venus was about to respond, but Mercury stopped her.

"In her current state, she may need extra time to focus her spiritual energy," Mercury advised. "Please don't distract her."

"Why does she need that? Burning Mandala would probably work better on this thing," Venus argued.

"If this is an illusion constructed by those Kitsune we were warned about, this will no doubt be the proper response," Mercury told her. "Mars is the expert on this."

"And if it's not an illusion?" Jupiter asked anxiously.

Just then, the ice holding the ice giant was torn asunder, huge chunks of ice tumbling away like mountain boulders. It brought its hand up to freeze the senshi, Three of them crouched, ready to react and hoping they could react in time.

Just then, Mars sprang forward from between Mercury and Venus, her face contorted in venomous malice. She flung her ward at the ice monster, the sacred paper cleaving the air like a bullet. It zipped down the street, between two splayed fingers of the ice giant and struck it squarely on the forehead. A shriek pierced the area, sounding like a cross between a wounded animal and a woman in agony.

And the ice giant disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"OK, she called that one," Venus shrugged. Jupiter gave her a cynical look.

Mars continued to glare ahead. Alerted, the others followed her sight line. Walking toward them through the smoky haze left by the ice giant were Endymion and Serenity.

* * *

"I wish I knew how it was going," fretted Serenity back in the palace. "I hope everyone is all right." As she paced, the Queen carried Setsuko in her arms.

"The Senshi are seasoned professionals, Your Majesty, and quite formidable," Luna advised her.

"You're right, Luna," Serenity nodded. "But I hate not knowing."

"Maybe I can fix that," Endymion murmured. He was working at a computer station.

"What are you trying?" Artemis asked, looking over from his monitor of the police calls and news reports.

"Piggybacking on Ami's idea," he replied. "I've hooked into the internet global mapping software and I'm trying to pull up a satellite view of the business district that will let me see what's going on." He continued to work the mouse on his computer. "If only the city had a surveillance network, I wouldn't have to do it the hard way."

"Endymion, you know I don't like the idea of spying on people," Serenity said. Setsuko slid out of her arms to the floor and the pair walked over for a look, in spite of the Queen's stated preferences.

"A surveillance system is not spying on people," Endymion said distantly as he worked. "A surveillance system is a means of spotting hazardous and potentially hazardous situations in order to increase response time and better protect the city and the population."

"You can dress it up in all the five thousand yen words you want, Endymion," Serenity fussed, "but it's still spying."

"That looks like them!" Artemis exclaimed. Serenity leaned in closer while Luna stretched her neck to get a view.

At the sound of the door to the room opening, everyone turned and looked. Framed in the doorway was Rei's great-grandmother, Moriko.

* * *

The communication from Himura had hit her brain like a fist wrapped in a spiked gauntlet. The thing she had feared was happening. Himura was using her star ball to communicate with her.

In the past, she had resisted his attempts to contact her, and the attempts of his predecessors, through distance and anonymity. But Himura was too close now and he knew she was here.

"I can sense you, Kokininomo," she felt Himura's voice in her head say. "Acknowledge me. Or else I'll just have to deem this star ball useless - - and destroy it."

"I'm here," Moriko thought back. She didn't try to disguise the disgust in her thoughts.

"At last we meet," Himura responded. "You're a difficult Kitsune to track down." She didn't respond. "I have a task for you, Kokininomo. One that will allow you to fulfill some of the contract that you ran out on."

"What task?" Moriko thought, though she knew what it would be.

"I need you to kill Queen Serenity and King Endymion," Himura told her. "A fairly simple task for one with the legendary skills of the Kitsune-yako."

"I am NOT Kitsune-yako!"

"So long as I possess your star ball, you are. And so long as I possess your star ball, you will do as I tell you."

"Don't," Moriko thought to him. "Don't make me do this! I owe a debt of loyalty to the ancestor of . . .!"

"You owe a debt of loyalty to ME!" Himura shot back. Moriko winced at the power of the thought. "Do you want to be a simple fox again? With no magic and no ability to think beyond the level of 'hunt-eat-sleep-reproduce'?"

There was an anxious pause.

"No," Moriko responded finally.

Moriko entered the corridor of the palace from her bed in the guest quarters. Down the hall, a palace security guard with a German Shepherd on a leash spotted her. The dog quickly began barking and violently snapping at her. Moriko fell back against the door to her quarters and pressed against it.

"Wait, you're the one we were warned about," the guard said. "Down, stupid dog!" the guard fumed at the frenzied canine. "Go ahead. Don't worry. I've got the dog."

Moriko nodded, slid along the wall past the snapping German Shepherd as it continued to bark, then hurried along. She got as far as the door to the Senshi conference room, then paused and steadied her nerves. Finally calm, Moriko opened the door. Serenity, Endymion and the cats all turned to her.

* * *

"Serenity?" Mars gasped anxiously. "I told you to stay in the palace!"

"But I wanted to help you, Mars!" whined the Queen as she and her husband approached. "I was afraid one of you would get hurt!"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Venus quipped.

"Energy radiation is wrong!" Mercury said suddenly. Her visor was down and she was staring directly at the Royal Couple. "THEY'RE ILLUSIONS!"

"Jupiter! Oak Evolution!" Jupiter shouted quickly. Instantly electrical bursts began to explode around the King and Queen. Out of the corner of her eye, Venus noticed a television crew from TV Asahi capturing the scene on video.

"This is going to look good on the evening news," muttered Venus. "Venus Love Me Chain!"

Twin chains shot out and wrapped around the images of Endymion and Serenity. Mars stepped forward, another two sacred wards pressed to her forehead. When it was charged, she flung them at the Royal Couple. The pair exploded into smoke on contact with the sacred sutras, Venus's chains going limp and falling to the ground.

The sound of Mercury crying out in pain from behind them whirled the other senshi around. They found Mercury laying on the pavement, unconscious and a trickle of blood oozing from the corner of her mouth.

"Mercury!" Jupiter cried out. She and Venus looked around for what had attacked their fellow senshi.

"It's the Kitsune!" Mars shouted. "She's invisible!" Immediately Mars placed her right hand, the palm and fingers flat, along the line between the tip of her nose and the center of her forehead. Her eyes closed tightly.

"How the Hell do you fight invisible?" Venus exclaimed.

"Jupiter! Oak Evolution!" Jupiter cried out. Electrical bursts began exploding all around her. Unfortunately, they were exploding all around Venus as well.

"Hey! Watch where you're firing those things!" Venus howled.

She dodged an electrical burst, but another exploded against her upper arm. Grimacing, she grabbed it. As she held her arm, Venus saw nothing strike Jupiter from behind. It took four vicious blows to fell the woman, but Jupiter went down near Mercury.

"Crescent Beam!" Venus shouted, firing at the point where something invisible would have been to strike Jupiter. A howl of pain told her she'd hit. But from behind something struck her across the head. Venus sank to her knees, looking behind her before her senses were enveloped in black and seeing nothing.

"Two of them," Mars mumbled, her eyes still closed. Her hand came down from her face and stopped at her side, her hand splayed. "Mars! Flame Sniper!" She brought the bow up. Sensing Kokatsuna was still wounded from the blast she took from Venus, Mars whirled and took aim at where she hoped she sensed Reikokuna was.

But so intent upon the two Kitsune was Mars, she didn't notice Himura approaching from behind her. He wasn't invisible, except to her. Neither was his club. Himura brought the club down onto Mars' back between her shoulder blades and felled the senshi with a vicious blow. Mars struggled to stay awake, but succumbed.

"And now we only need to wait for Kokininomo," he said as his two Kitsune servants became visible next to him.

Continued in Chapter 11


	11. Betrayal And Deception

THE CONSPIRACY WORE MY FACE  
Chapter 11: Betrayal And Deception  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

"Two women and a man, you said?" the police officer asked as he interviewed the television photographer. "Did you see where they went?"

"No," the photographer shook his head.

"Did they go into a building? Did they get into a vehicle?" prodded the officer.

"They just vanished!" the photographer exclaimed. "The man picked up Sailor Mercury and flung her over his shoulder, then bent down and grabbed Sailor Jupiter's hand. One woman picked up Sailor Venus and the other one picked up Sailor Mars. And then they - - just - - weren't there anymore!"

"Do you have a copy of the video you were shooting?" the officer asked. "We might be able to get some evidence on who these people are or where they went."

"I-In the remote truck," the photographer mumbled, pointing to the news van parked half way down the block. "It's not going to show you where they went, though. When they disappeared, I was so blown away that I stopped shooting."

"We'll look at it anyway," the officer said. Other uniformed police officers were combing the area where the Senshi had last been seen, searching for some trace.

About two hundred feet away, in the lobby of a financial investment firm, stood Isamu Himura. The building was deserted, having been evacuated at the first sign of the "ice giant". Himura watched the police from the front lobby without fear of being seen. He and the others in the lobby were obscured from sight by the illusion cast by Kokatsuna and Reikokuna. The two Kitsune stood behind him. Kokatsuna was still in her human form with short black hair, while Reikokuna was in her human form with long black hair.

The four senshi were bound to chairs from the lobby reception area. Each chair was placed ten feet from the other and was inside a chalk circle, kanji ringing the circles. Makoto was the last to stir.

"My head," groaned Makoto. "Feels like I'm inside a bell."

"You've probably suffered a concussion," Ami said. Makoto glanced over at her and saw she looked ill. "Given the symptomology, I'm certain that I have."

"I'm still in the game," Minako told them, her eyes on Himura and the women the entire time. "Maybe I've just got a hard head."

"Headache or no, I can still get us out of this," Makoto told them. "Jupiter Planet Power Make Up!"

When nothing happened, Makoto's surprise was equaled by that of Ami and Minako. Not Rei, though.

"Your senshi forms and powers are being blocked," Rei said, her demeanor dangerously close to resignation. "Those circles around us cast a blocking spell. Until someone breaks the circle, we're stuck."

"Which no one will," Himura said, walking up. The two women followed dutifully behind him. Kokatsuna was inscrutable, but Reikokuna was openly reveling in her Master's triumph. "You are my prisoners." He turned to Rei and leered. "And you are mine again."

Reikokuna's smile dimmed.

"You know, this is an awful lot of trouble to go to just to get an autograph," Minako quipped bravely.

"The Master has no interest in YOU!" snapped Reikokuna.

"Well, only as a means to an end," Himura added. "Should other plans I've set into motion be countered, I have you four to draw the King and Queen into my midst."

"Not a smart move," Makoto said, grimacing from her pounding head. "Serenity is more than any of you or all of you can handle. And Endymion gets real mad when somebody threatens Serenity."

"Yes, the exploits of the Queen are legends told and retold over the length and breath of Japan for twenty years now," Himura responded confidently. "And in that legend are story upon story of how she will surrender herself rather than see someone else harmed."

The Senshi grew silent. They all knew it was true.

As Himura and his Kitsune watched and waited, Minako watched them. At once, she shoved the seat of her chair with her hip. The chair inched to the side, halted by her right foot anchored to the chair leg. But it was that much closer to the chalk circle. She did it again and got an inch closer.

Reikokuna turned and looked at her, frowning.

"I see you watching," Minako said with a cocky smile. "You're probably studying my face, so you can change yourself into the acknowledged ultimate example of feminine beauty in the world."

The Kitsune gave her a scowl and turned away. Minako winked at Makoto, who just shook her head in grudging admiration. Minako nudged her chair two more times. Then Himura turned to them.

"Assuming you succeed in assassinating the King and Queen," Ami spoke up, trying to distract his attention, in spite of her clearly diminished faculties, "do you honestly expect your Kitsune to successfully impersonate them? The public is bound to catch on."

"Why?" Himura asked. "The illusions of the Kitsune-yako are capable of fooling even the most superior human intellect. None of you recognized Kokatsuna when she infiltrated the palace kitchen as the cafeteria worker. None of you recognized her when she impersonated both the priest and Sailor Mars. She was even able to impersonate Sailor Mars' attacks with her fox fire magic. If she could fool you, they can fool a general public who knows the Royal Couple far less intimately."

"So you're doing this just to gain power without using it?" Ami wheezed. "It seems like a long way to go for so little reward."

"I intend to use it," Himura turned away confidently.

Minako nudged her chair again.

"For personal gain?" Ami asked. "Some self-serving agenda? Forgive me if I don't conclude your motivations are altruistic."

Minako nudged her chair again.

"Call it what you will," Himura remarked, glancing back at her. "I will take the power that is due me and all things that go with that power. And no one can stop me."

"Which is completely out of character for Serenity and Endymion," Ami replied as if she'd just put him in checkmate. "Which will either expose you and your Kitsune as impostors or inspire a revolt by the people against you. Your plan is illogical and doomed to failure. Give up now."

But before Himura could respond, a sudden billowing cloud of white smoke exploded from a point twenty feet from Minako's left, near the lobby elevators and emergency stairwell. The hostages reacted by coiling to move, though they really couldn't. Himura and the others just waited for the smoke to dissipate.

Standing in the center of the smoke as it began to dissipate was Rei's great-grandmother Moriko. Dangling limply from her hands were the King and Queen of Japan. Rei gasped audibly. The others were silent, but everyone could feel the tension radiating from them.

"Here," Moriko said, her words dripping with venom. "They're dead. I brought you their bodies as proof. And damn you to Hell for making me do this!"

"No," Rei sobbed, shaking her head. "No, no, no, no, no."

"I'll see you dead for this!" Makoto hissed through clenched teeth, her eyes burning with hatred. "If it's my last act on Earth, I'll see you all dead for this!"

Ami and Minako didn't speak. Shock had stilled their tongues.

Himura approached Moriko with a slow, even gait. His eyes held her the entire time. Moriko stood her ground unflinching as he neared her, the limp dead bodies of Serenity and Endymion hanging from her hands. She didn't try to cover her contempt for him. It didn't seem to matter at all to the man. Himura stopped when he was right in front of her, near enough to touch. He intimately invaded her personal space, continuing all the while to stare into her eyes. Then he smiled. His hand came up and tenderly caressed Moriko's cheek.

"Did you honestly believe you could fool me?" he asked.

The two Kitsune gasped in shock as the images of the dead monarchs changed into a pair of twigs. Minako let out a soft exclamation of grudging admiration. Rei choked out a sob of joy. Makoto's elation was unconcealed, while Ami looked that much less ill.

But Himura was not amused. His hand went from Moriko's cheek to her throat and closed around her, then violently threw the Kitsune to the floor.

"Very well, Kokininomo!" Himura fumed. His hand dove into his jacket pocket and produced a small silver ball with a white star on it. The man held it in his hand over the prone Moriko. "You refuse to serve me? Then return to being the common woodland fox you once rose from! You made your choice! Now suffer . . .!"

"Master!" Reikokuna shouted suddenly. "She's behind you! I smell her scent behind you!"

As Himura turned, Moriko appeared from invisibility behind him, even as the Moriko illusion laying prone on the floor changed in a puff of smoke into an acorn. The woman lunged at Himura, reaching up and clutching for the star ball Himura held in his hand. Himura used his free arm to try to ward off the lunging woman. Her appearance, still as a seventy year old woman, belied her strength and Himura was at first hard pressed to keep her away. Frantically Moriko tried to pry the star ball out of his outstretched hand.

From behind them, Reikokuna shot forward, intent upon helping her master and her love. Kokatsuna, though, stood and did nothing. But as she moved, something caught Reikokuna's eye. She turned to the four women still tied to the chairs.

One of the chairs was occupied by Sailor Mars.

"Master!" Reikokuna screamed as Himura finally shoved Moriko away. "The Senshi! Kokininomo sundered the circles!"

Himura looked to confirm it. The circles around Rei and Makoto had been scuffed by a foot and broken. As the transformation completed, Sailor Mars glared directly into the man's eyes.

"Mars Snake FIRE!" Mars bellowed.

Instantly her body erupted in an inferno of fire. The ropes holding her were reduced to ash, as was the chair she was bound to. Ami and Makoto, though ten feet away, still had to turn away from the intense blast of heat from her. Even Minako felt it and she was twenty feet from it. Reikokuna and Kokatsuna instinctively fell back from the fire. Mars rose to full height, her body a mass of flame, continuing to face Himura. As he watched, transfixed by the amazing sight, a snake composed of fire began to rise up from the senshi's flaming form. It rose up into the lobby's vaulted ceiling, the snake's head curved forward and staring at Himura as it rose. The atmosphere of the room became difficult to breathe from the consumption of oxygen and from the intense heat. The giant fiery snake bared its fangs in preparation to strike.

And then the building's sprinkler system went off. Gushers of water struck the snake and converted instantly to steam. Within moments the steam began to fill the room, blanketing everything in a thickening hot fog. By now Makoto had figured things out and transformed to Sailor Jupiter. She had burned through her restraints with her electricity and was freeing Minako.

The cascading water was taking its toll on Mars and her snake. The snake began to shrink back, crumpling as the fire died away. Freed from the snake's hypnotic spell, Himura backed away and tried to search for an escape. But the thick cloud of steam had obscured everything in the room. After a few moments search, Himura spotted a silhouette that looked like Reikokuna and made for her. But as he neared, the silhouette lashed out at him and knocked him to the floor. As the steam began to clear from the drenching water of the sprinkler system, Himura looked up.

"Going somewhere?" Moriko demanded, standing over him menacingly.

* * *

The police cordon on the street where the "ice giant" had appeared and then mysteriously disappeared was still up. The area was alive with detectives, uniformed officers, forensics specialists and even the special tactical squad, just in case something else came up. A crowd of onlookers, emboldened by the disappearance of the ice giant, stood behind police barricades and strained to see what was happening. More than one camera phone was out, trying to nab some video in the hopes it would go viral and make a name for them.

"Any leads yet on where the senshi and the suspects went?" a division captain asked one of the detectives. He was fifty and a veteran of twenty-two years on the force.

"Nothing yet," the detective replied. He was forty-one and a five year detective. "There's clear evidence that the Senshi were here and that they were fighting something. I've got three dozen witnesses that say it was one of those ice giants that froze everything a few months - - um, years ago. But the video from that TV Asahi photographer shows them all firing at nothing."

"Mass hallucination?" the Captain asked.

"Or some sort of sophisticated stealth tech that's way beyond my education level," the detective suggested. "It would explain how four Senshi and three suspects just up and disappeared into thin air."

"Any ID on the suspects yet?"

"Nothing on the two women," the detective reported. "But image matching software pulled up a possible on the man. Guy from outside of Tomisato named Isamu Himura. Was investigated by the local police back in '95 in connection with the death of his wife. It's not positive, but worth investigating."

"I'll have Central call Tomisato and have their local police look into it," the Captain said.

"That won't be necessary, Captain," a voice said behind him. "He's your man."

The Captain turned. Making their way through the police cordon, to the rising thunder of gasps and applause from the masses behind the barricade, were King Endymion and Queen Serenity. The Captain noticed that Endymion was wearing black armor rather than his normal grey tuxedo, and had a sword dangling from his belt.

"What's this all about?" the Captain asked, then added as an afterthought, "Your Majesty."

"Himura and his two associates are involved in a plot to take over the government," Endymion replied gravely. The eyes of the two policemen popped, but they said nothing.

"Do you know where they are?" Serenity asked. The Queen was almost frantic.

"We're still trying to track them, Your Majesty," the Captain confessed.

"These people don't possess any special tech we should know about, do they?" the detective inquired. Endymion and Serenity looked at each other.

"The two female associates of Himura," Endymion began, "are . . ." The sound of his cell phone interrupted the King. "Endymion here."

"I'm picking up a fire alarm from your area," Artemis said over the phone, loud enough so that Serenity and the two policemen could hear as well. "But I don't have any visible signs of fire on my satellite picture. Can you confirm?"

"I don't see any visible evidence of a fire," Endymion responded. "What's the address of the alarm?"

"Tokyo Fire Department confirms the alarm," the Captain added, covering his own cell phone with his hand. "They're in route now."

"Maybe it's Rei!" Serenity exclaimed.

"Got it," Endymion nodded. He visually scanned the area. "That building; the Hanshin Investment Group building over there."

Serenity started for it, but Endymion held her up. She turned to him, silently but impatiently questioning his act.

"Remember what Moriko-San said," Endymion reminded her. "This was all part of Himura's plan to lure us to him."

"But Rei and the others could be in danger!" Serenity argued.

"And if we rush blindly in and step into his trap," Endymion countered calmly, "all of their effort and sacrifice will have been for nothing. We'll check it out - - but cautiously."

Serenity gave in - - but she wasn't happy.

* * *

"Let me at that little . . .!" Sailor Jupiter fumed. Electricity was crackling dangerously from her clenched fists, spitting and throwing sparks as water hit them. But Sailor Mercury appeared in front of her and held her back.

"Don't fire on her, Jupiter," Mercury advised. "You might endanger the star ball he's holding."

Jupiter held up. It made sense. Anything Mercury said made sense to her. Then the steam in the room dissipated a little more. Over Mercury's shoulder, Jupiter saw Ami still sitting on the chair, holding her head. She looked back at Mercury with growing anger and received a swift punch to the face.

Venus was prepared to ensnare Himura with her Love Me Chain. Suddenly the woman with the short brown hair engaged her, standing directly in her line of fire.

"Move it or lose it, Foxy!" Venus snapped. "I'll go through you if I have to!"

Kokatsuna responded with a burst of fire. Venus narrowly avoided the fireball, rolling on the floor and springing up in a battle position. A quick glance set the scene for her: Ami was hurt, Mars was done in by her Snake Fire attack and Jupiter was engaged with "Mercury". Kokatsuna hurled another fire ball that Venus avoided. She was on her own with this one.

Though Moriko stood over Himura, her hair drenched and her clothing plastered to her body by the torrents of water from the sprinkler system, Himura was the one who seemed in control. That was because he still had her star ball. From his position on the floor, the man held it up to her.

"You win this round, Kokininomo," Himura hissed, his venomous eyes glaring at the woman. "But at what cost?"

And with a squeeze of his hand, he crushed the ball.

Concluded in Chapter 12


	12. Aftermath

THE CONSPIRACY WORE MY FACE  
Chapter 12: Aftermath  
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

Though Moriko stood over Himura, her hair drenched and her clothing plastered to her body by the torrents of water from the sprinkler system, Himura was the one who seemed in control. That was because he still had her star ball. From his position on the floor, the man held it up to her.

"You win this round, Kokininomo," Himura hissed, his venomous eyes glaring at the woman. "But at what cost?"

And with a squeeze of his hand, he crushed the ball.

Sailor Mars gasped in fear. Everyone else froze in place. But Moriko just laughed. Confused, Himura opened his hand. In it was an acorn.

"So sorry," Moriko said, pulling her star ball from a pouch inside her blouse. "Were you looking for this?"

"Oh, you go girl!" exclaimed Sailor Venus. Moriko smirked in triumph, then reached into her pouch again.

"Kokatsuna!" she called to the woman with the short black hair near Venus. In her hand was another star ball. "Catch." And she tossed the ball to the Kitsune. Kokatsuna caught it and cradled it like it was her infant child.

"At last," Kokatsuna said softly, in awe of the object in her hands. "After nearly a hundred and fifty years of servitude to him and his family - - I AM FREE!"

The woman looked at Himura, still prone on the floor and her elation turned in an instant to rage.

"You will PAY for enslaving me!" Kokatsuna snarled and charged Himura. But she was tackled in mid-stride by Reikokuna. The two women tumbled across the floor toward the reception desk. Each one pushed away from the other. "Stay out of this, Reikokuna! I will have my revenge!"

"Not so long as I live!" Reikokuna snarled back.

Immediately the two females disappeared, their forms replaced by a pair of two-tailed foxes. The two foxes lunged at each other, rolling around on the floor, biting and clawing at each other in merciless combat. When one would kick the other away, they would circle each other, then lunge and fight again.

"Ah ah!" Venus shouted suddenly. Mars and Jupiter turned and found Himura trying to reach the emergency stairwell. "Venus Love Me Chain!"

The golden links shot out and snared Himura. Once subdued, Venus dragged him back. It was then the front door to the building flew open, and Endymion and Serenity came in, followed by a squad of special tactical officers.

"Oh, sure! NOW the cavalry shows up!" Venus quipped.

"What is going on here?" gasped Serenity. Her attention was drawn to the fierce battle between the two foxes.

"Himura's two Kitsune are having a disagreement," scowled Mars.

"No! No, enough!" exclaimed Serenity. Using the crystal, she forced the two combatants apart. "No more fighting! Please!"

"Very well," the fox known as Kokatsuna said, which made more than one of the tactical officers stare in amazement. "I forego my vengeance - - for now. One day you'll see him for what he is, Reikokuna - - if he doesn't destroy you first. I'm going back to the forest."

"Hold on a moment," Endymion demanded. The fox seemed to smile at him.

"Try and stop me," Kokatsuna said. Smoke exploded all around her. When it dissipated, she was gone.

"Uh, could somebody shut this sprinkler off?" Venus asked. "I'm beginning to prune."

Serenity waved her hand and the sprinklers shut off.

"Ames?" Jupiter inquired gently, kneeling next to Ami. Ami was still sitting in the chair, holding her head. "Hey, Colonel, get your medical team in here! Ami's in bad shape!"

"Yes," Ami murmured, struggling to focus. "Concussion. Possibility of sub-cranial haemorrhaging. Recommend . . . CAT-scan . . ."

"SHHH!" Jupiter responded as the medics came up. "Let someone else be the doctor for a change."

As medics took Ami away, Venus and Endymion took control of Reikokuna long enough for Mars to reach in and take the Kitsune's star ball. Once sufficiently restrained, she and Himura were taken away by the police. While this happened, Mars felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning, she found Moriko.

"I think we have time to talk now," Moriko told her, "if you still have questions."

"A billion of them," Mars replied with a sentimental smile on her lips.

* * *

The Royal Receiving Room in the palace had been converted into a makeshift courtroom to decide the fate of Isamu Himura and Reikokuna. Present were Superintendent General Natsuna Sakurada and Attorney Hayao Tamashita to provide a legal perspective. To give advice on Reikokuna was Rei and Tsubame Yamagata, Professor of Japanese Literature at Tokyo University, both experts on Japanese Mythology. Also present were Ami, recently released from the hospital, Makoto and Minako, as well as Luna and Artemis.

"From a legal standpoint," Superintendent Sakurada said, "Himura is potentially guilty of multiple counts of attempted murder, treason, inciting a riot, kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment. I would recommend that he be held without bail until my department can build a case against him," and Sakurada hesitated, warily eyeing the King and Queen, "assuming there's going to be a trial."

"Himura-San has the right to a trial by his peers," Tamashita spoke up. "That's the cornerstone of democracy."

"A trial won't be necessary in this case," Endymion said measuredly. "We know he's guilty."

"Your Majesty, you just can't incarcerate this man on your own volition!" protested Tamashita.

"It's a new era, Tamashita-San," Endymion replied. "If this man is a threat to society in general, we will act." Endymion could feel how uncomfortable Serenity was beside him. "And there's the question of what to do about the Kitsune, Reikokuna."

"Well," Tamashita responded, "there really isn't precedent in the case of a mythological creature."

"There are only two choices here," Rei spoke up. Serenity could see her friend was still depressed, which broke the Queen's heart, but that she was at least fighting through it. "You can keep her star ball in custody, and by that means command her not to act against humanity or aid Himura. She'll most likely obey you, but she'll hate you for every moment you keep her star ball and probably seek vengeance against you the moment you relinquish it. Or you can return it to her now, at which point she'll use her Kitsune abilities to help Himura escape."

"Maybe not," Serenity offered.

"I'm afraid so, Queen Serenity," Professor Yamagata concurred. "The tales of Kitsune loyalty to a human they have accepted as their master are very numerous and very consistent. And the tales of Kitsune who have entered into a romantic relationship with a human point in the same direction."

"Hon'," Makoto spoke up, "you're not considering letting those two go, are you?"

Serenity looked down at her lap.

"After everything they did?" Minako asked. "Makoto almost died because of them! He was going to kill you and then turn Japan into his own personal playground!"

"And I'll bet if you gave him truth serum, he'd tell you he'd do it again," Makoto added. "And next time he might not grab Rei. Next time he might grab Setsuko."

Serenity swallowed anxiously.

"There's another way. I didn't want to bring it up because it's pretty drastic," Rei said softly. Everybody waited for her to speak. "Destroy Reikokuna's star ball and turn her into a normal fox. Without his Kitsune, Himura is just an evil little man with no power to make his dreams come true. It would be a terrible thing to do to Reikokuna. Maybe more humane than putting her in a cage until Himura dies and releases her from her vow of loyalty. And less of a danger to everyone by letting her roam free." She exhaled. "But still a terrible thing to do to her."

"Not that she hasn't earned it," grumbled Minako.

Hopefully, almost desperately, Serenity looked to Ami.

"Logically, Himura is a clear and present danger to you and to the people of Japan until and if he renounces his desire for power," Ami analysed. "According to Rei, Reikokuna will remain loyal to him and willingly provide him with the ability to make further attempts if she is able. Unless you decide to alter his brain by means of the Silver Crystal to remove his desire for power, which in itself is a drastic and unethical measure, your only other logical alternative is incarceration."

Serenity stared at her lap for the longest time. The longer it took the more she seemed on the verge of tears. Finally she nodded.

"We'll," Serenity choked out, "put them in prison - - keep the star ball in a safe place." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "But we'll let them share the same cell. Maybe if they have each other, it won't be so bad."

"And maybe it will be worse," Ami remarked. The others all looked at her. "Chaucer once wrote 'Familiarity breeds contempt'. It's an idiom that's often more correct than we like to believe."

* * *

A limousine pulled up in front of a local kindergarten. The door opened and a man in plain clothes whose look and attire screamed "security guard" got out. He walked around to the passenger door, gave the area the once over, then opened the door. Out stepped King Endymion, followed by Queen Serenity and little Setsuko. The gathered public, kept back behind barricades for the Royal Family's safety and convenience, cheered and squealed. Serenity waved to them as the Royal Family headed for the kindergarten.

"I've heard a lot of good things about this one," Serenity said to the sullen girl.

"I'm not going to like it," Setsuko said dourly. "Why can't I stay with you?"

The Queen knelt down to the child. "Setsuko-Chan, I can't teach you all you need to know. That's why we have teachers. Besides, don't you want to meet other children?"

"What if they're mean to me?" Setsuko asked, more layers of the trauma buried deep down under Serenity's magic becoming exposed.

"Setsuko-Chan," Endymion said, squatting next to her. "Dealing with people who are mean to you is one of the things you have to learn so you can grow up. You can't hide from it. Otherwise you won't do anything except hide."

"Setsuko-Chan, if you spend your life hiding from the bad stuff, you're going to miss all of the good stuff," Serenity told her. "Now can you give this place a chance? For me?"

Reluctantly Setsuko nodded. The three went inside and found a familiar face waiting for them.

"Mizuno-Sensei!" Serenity gasped.

But it wasn't Ami waiting for them. It was her mother, Kaname. Setsuko recognized the woman immediately and ran over to her. Kaname knelt down and embraced the child.

"Why are you here?" Serenity asked. "I mean, we're glad to have you, but aren't you busy?"

"Never too busy for a former patient," the woman said. "Setsuko-Chan, are you ready for your grand tour?"

Setsuko clouded over, but nodded. Kaname led the girl into the next room, with Serenity and Endymion following. Inside the room were twenty-three other children, all Setsuko's age. They were playing with various games, books and crafts. Kaname knelt down to Setsuko again.

"Would you like to join them?" she asked. Setsuko seemed reluctant, but moved forward with some gentle prodding from Kaname. The girl wandered timidly over to a table where several girls were making dolls out of craft paper. One girl, a dark haired dark eyed cherub whose demeanor reminded Endymion of a little blonde cherub he once met in a hospital, invited her to join them.

"Ami told me about Setsuko-chan's experiences at the other kindergartens you visited," Dr. Mizuno explained. "After some consideration, it became apparent to me that the problem might be a lack of children present. All she saw was unfamiliar surroundings run by unfamiliar adults and it probably intimidated her. Having other children present gives her the chance to fit into a peer situation and establish some sense of security. That's probably more important to a child like her, given the situation she came from, than in most children."

"Very well thought out, Mizuno-Sensei," nodded Endymion.

"It's experience more than anything," Kaname admitted. "Ami was very shy and reluctant to mix when she first started school. I realize now that was primarily my fault. I pushed her too hard, demanded too much too soon." The mature but still imposing woman smiled ruefully. "But each mistake provides us with an opportunity to learn and positively evolve from the experience."

"I hope it works," Serenity grimaced.

"If it doesn't, we'll try something else," Dr. Mizuno responded.

"I hope it does. Honestly, I had no idea motherhood was going to be this tough!" Serenity exclaimed. "Makes me feel guilty about all the problems I gave my Mom and Dad."

Endymion touched her arm. Serenity looked to where he was pointing. The girl who had first extended the invitation to Setsuko was chattering away. Some of the other girls would get a word in occasionally, while Setsuko just nodded and imitated the others as she made her own craft paper doll.

Class dismissed two hours later. Setsuko came over to them. Serenity knelt down to her. She didn't say a word. She waited instead for Setsuko.

"I like this one," Setsuko nodded, as if that were all that needed to be said.

And, in truth, it really was.

* * *

Sitting outside of an ice cream shop just three blocks from where they had fought the illusion of an ice giant just a few days ago, Rei and Makoto talked over sweet treats. Both women were dressed casually, and Makoto noticed of Rei, conservatively. She displayed none of the stylishness that had been her trademark in years past. Both women wore sunglasses: Makoto to hide her eyes from the sun, while Rei just seemed to be hiding.

"You and your great-grandmother have a nice long talk?" Makoto inquired.

"Several," Rei replied and even managed a smile. "I'm learning so much about my Kaasan, my great-grandfather, and my family history in general from her. It's kind of nice to have a relative I can talk to again. Well, one I want to talk to anyway." She took a drag on the straw in her fruit smoothie. "How are you feeling?"

"Back to normal physically," Makoto shrugged. "I admit I was scared when it happened," and she paused to reflect, "though mostly for what me dying was going to do to San-San and the kids."

"Wish I could be that cavalier about it," Rei sighed.

"Well, with me it was like being in a car wreck: it's over so quickly that you only have time to be relieved. With you, it's like being sick for two years straight: you've got more bad memories piled up, weighing you down." Using her straw, Makoto stirred the remains of her chocolate shake. "Everything OK between you and Derek?"

"Noticed that, huh?" Rei whispered. "I hate what I'm doing to him. I can't enjoy being together because I can't forget what they did to me. And now he's all stressed out because of what - - happened - - when Kokatsuna was impersonating me. There's such a distance between us now. And Oba-San's presence isn't helping. He's really leery of her." She exhaled a heavy sigh. "He even suggested I quit being a senshi. I can't do that. Being a senshi can be a burden sometimes, just like being a priest can be. But it's who I am. If I quit, what am I?"

"Maybe he's on to something though," Makoto suggested. Rei looked at her in shock. "I'm not saying quit. But maybe you need to get away - - get away from being a senshi, a priest, a victim, everything. Go find some out of the way little spot where the sun is warm and nobody knows you, just you and Derek. Climb a mountain, or lay on a beach or go somewhere as far away from things as you can get and just forget. Forget everything, not just what happened."

"Have you forgotten that the world is still recovering from the ice disaster?" Rei replied. "Everybody else hasn't recovered as fast as Japan has, so I don't think there's a lot of vacation spots available."

"So stay in Japan," Makoto shrugged. "Last time I checked, we had mountains and beaches. Some of them can be pretty remote."

"I'm not sure a week's vacation will do it," Rei replied pessimistically.

"Take two weeks," Makoto told her. "Take a month! Take a year if you have to! However long it takes to get your head right."

"I can't leave the senshi for that long!" Rei gasped.

"You did once. You left for four years."

"Yeah, and you and Serenity almost got eaten by that Queen Spider!"

"But we didn't," Makoto grinned. "And this time Endymion will be here to look out for her. And Ames and Blondie, and even the Outers when they can find the time. We'll make do, even if turns out to be a year," then she smirked, "or even if you and Derek come back expecting."

"Quiet! The gods might hear you!" hissed Rei, her cheeks flushing. "I just - - wouldn't feel right about it. Not when there's still so much to do."

"OK," Makoto nodded. "You said yourself that a lot of the world is still in rough shape. Why not take on some missionary work? Go find some of those people who need help in other parts of the world and help them. They say helping others is a great way to building your own spirituality. Go be a priest and help people in need to find their way in this broken world, and maybe you'll find yourself along the way."

Rei fell silent. Makoto didn't have the ability to "read" people like Rei could, but she'd known this woman for twenty years and she knew the woman's ways. And Makoto could tell her last suggestion intrigued Rei.

"Do you think everyone would mind?" Rei whispered, looking at nothing in particular.

"Not a bit," chuckled Makoto. "We just want you to get well, Hon'."

Rei thought silently, mulling the idea over.

"Let me see what Derek says," she said finally. But if Makoto knew her "Rei-Speak", the priest had already decided.

The end.


End file.
